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Jenny Wilson is not at all depressed.
She will savor time at home with her husband and two young boys. She plans to get in more hikes and start running again - though not for political office anytime soon.
And, no, Tuesday's bitter loss in the mayor's race hasn't soured her taste for civic life.
Still, how did it happen? How did a smart, savvy, Salt Lake City political legacy squander a summerlong lead and fall short by 1,200 votes?
Nobody knows for sure, especially Wilson.
"I'm not going to get into any Monday-morning quarterbacking," she said a day after she saw Ralph Becker and Dave Buhler coast into the fall finale. "I wouldn't have done anything differently. I hired the right people and really believed in my message."
But theories about the collapse abound.
"Overall, there was a perception that Ralph had more gravitas," explained Deeda Seed, a former city councilwoman and Wilson supporter. "Also, Ralph managed to identify himself as the most progressive candidate."
Wilson was an attractive contender, but never seemed to connect beyond her initial backers, according to Kirk Jowers, director of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics. He notes published polls always pegged her support near a quarter of the overall vote. In the end, she snagged 23 percent - behind Becker's 39 percent and Buhler's 28 percent.
"Jenny was never able to expand her reach," Jowers said. "It killed her in the end."
He shrugged off the impact of any late hits - Mayor Rocky Anderson penned a Sunday Salt Lake Tribune op-ed that outlined job-related stresses for a mother (or father) who would be mayor - calling them "negligible." He dismissed the perception that Wilson was running as "daddy's girl" - her father is a former mayor - as unfair, but suggested she should have worked harder over the summer to avoid the late fade.
"People seem to feel that she did not give them enough reasons beyond her father to vote for her over Becker, who did a much better job defining his vision and experience."
Even so, former mayoral wannabe Stuart Reid says Anderson's opinion piece may have cost Wilson a slot in the general election.
"Rocky knew what he was doing - he was trying to drive her numbers down," said Reid, who lost to Anderson in 1999 and argued the mayor's backers followed his cue and went to Becker. "Ralph, frankly, was surprised by how much he won by. He's said it repeatedly."
Anderson denies having an agenda or being sexist, labeling the notion an "absolute lie."
Seed says she doesn't think the op-ed or Wilson's rapid response affected the outcome. Neither does Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, who joined Wilson on the steps of City Hall on Sunday to reject Anderson's argument that perhaps young parents shouldn't seek time-consuming elective offices.
The attack probably hurt Wilson, Corroon says, but it didn't determine the race.
"She kept her base," he added. "But wasn't able to attract the undecideds."
By early summer, Wilson streaked to a strong lead - double digits in some polls. But over time, the hefty chunk of undecideds broke overwhelmingly to Becker.
Wilson might have prevailed at the polls had she proved herself more a lefty than her opponents, according to Salt Lake County Councilman Joe Hatch.
Instead, she lost the liberal vote to Becker, who branded himself as a bluer boss for Utah's capital.
It's not that Wilson didn't appeal to Democrats, Hatch notes; she simply was a second choice.
Another downfall was Wilson's campaign style, according to Hatch, a former county Democratic chairman. She focused on a "wholesale" recipe of mailers, television ads and phone calls that Hatch argues were less effective than Becker's door-knocking approach. "He walked everywhere and canvassed everything," Hatch said.
Other problems: Wilson had no reliable city voting bloc, unlike Becker's Avenues or Buhler's east bench.
In 2004, she toppled GOP stalwart Steve Harmsen in a countywide race. But insiders suggest Wilson's support this time was a mile wide and an inch deep.Wilson seemingly was doomed by both a lag in momentum and the lack of a geographic base motivated to vote.
Other factors may have siphoned support. In the final debate, Wilson noted she drove a Jeep Cherokee and a "mini" Land Rover and that her son was in private school.
"There were a lot of things that happened in the last week," Wilson said. "We had negative blogging going on. I mean, who knows."
Wilson is disappointed she won't be able to usher progressive plans for the city, but expects Becker will both win and carry the torch.
Still, the loss spelled an ominous deja vu for the Wilson family. Nearly 20 years ago, Ted Wilson - her father and a popular capital mayor - lost in stunning fashion in his bid for governor. The elder Wilson enjoyed a seemingly insurmountable lead, which critics claimed, he sat on too long.
So did Jenny Wilson do the same?
"I'm not sure she stumbled," County Councilman Jim Bradley said. "She just didn't start running."
Instead, he said, Becker mounted a vigorous on-the-street campaign that seemed to resonate with voters.
"He pressed the flesh better than anybody," Bradley said.
For the near future, Wilson pledges to focus on her job with the County Council. But she has not decided whether to run for re-election in 2010 or for any other office.
Jowers says that, if she chooses, the 41-year-old Wilson certainly could bounce back.
"If she picks the right race with a clearer vision," he said, "she can be a strong candidate in the future."
One thing is sure: Her campaign consultants won't include Anderson.
"There are approximately 180,000 residents in Salt Lake City, and I don't think there's anybody left he hasn't offended," Wilson said. "I, for one, will be glad to see a change on Jan. 8."
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* JEREMIAH STETTLER contributed to this story.