Three candidates - Republicans Richard Ellis and Mark Walker, and Democrat Dick Clark - are vying to fill the once-in-a-generation vacuum. The treasurer essentially acts as the state's chief financial officer, managing investments and disbursements of billions of dollars every year in Utah taxpayer money.

All the candidates say keeping the state's credit spotless is priority No. 1, but they offer subtle differences in perspective and practices that they think could make the office work even better.

The biggest intrigue comes in the Republican showdown, where Ellis, who is Alter's deputy, is seeking the nomination against Walker, a state legislator from Sandy who opted for the treasurer race over seeking re-election in his hotly contested House district.

Ellis has Alter's endorsement, while Walker has the backing of House Speaker Greg Curtis, Senate President John Valentine and Attorney General Mark Shurtleff.

Ellis bills himself on his Web site as "The Competent & Qualified Choice," running on his record of 22 years in public finance.

Alter hired Ellis in 1996 as his chief deputy after Ellis had worked in finance at the Jordan Valley Conservancy District, a stint in the private sector and as finance director for Draper City.

In 2003, Ellis became budget director under Gov. Olene Walker, stayed on after Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. took over, then returned to the Treasurer's Office in November 2006.

The office is doing its job, he said, noting that Governing magazine recently named Utah the best-governed state in the country, and he plans to stay the course.

"Experience is necessary in keeping it a professional office. We're not here as policymakers," Ellis said. "We're not driving an agenda politically . . . but just trying to do the business of the state."

Walker has been a state representative since 2005, but won his House seat last time around by just 18 votes and was being targeted by teacher unions and Democrats because of his support for private school vouchers.

He said he started thinking about the treasurer seat about a year ago, when Alter was considering stepping aside. Walker works at Zions Bank, dealing with deposits and investments for municipalities and government agencies.

"When it opened up," he said, "I thought that would be kind of interesting, something I could use my professional expertise in and still be involved politically."

Walker said he would bring a fiscally conservative perspective to the office, touting tax cuts he supported during his time in the Legislature and bringing in "cutting-edge technology" from the private sector.

The survivor of the Republican fight will face Dick Clark, a Democrat who has 30 years' experience in the securities business, is a registered investment adviser and a principal and manager for J.P. Turner Management in Salt Lake City.

He said he was inspired by his sons to run for public office. Two of them served tours in Iraq with the Army and the third is an officer with the Salt Lake Metro Gang Unit. "They risked everything they had every night," said Clark, and he thought he should serve the public like his sons.

Clark said he would not make major changes to the office. Instead, he suggested subtle changes could be incorporated from the private sector.

"But these small changes amount to a lot of money," he added.

If he wins in November, Clark would be the only Democrat to hold a statewide office, and he recognizes it may be a long shot.

"I'm an old baseball player," said Clark, who was an all-conference catcher at Brigham Young University. "My odds of winning are not very high, but I've been in games where we've been the underdogs and we won the whole damn thing. You've got to play the game."