This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Several Republican legislators were romanced earlier this year by Democratic leaders, promising the moderate lawmakers thousands of dollars in campaign aid - tens of thousands according to one lawmaker - if they switched parties.

Ultimately, the Republican legislators rebuffed the overtures, though a former lawmaker, Dave Hogue, took the offer.

Rep. Steve Mascaro, R-West Jordan, who has had frequent disagreements with Republican leaders and run-ins with conservatives in his party, said Democrats came to him asking whether he was mad enough at the leadership that he was "willing to strike back."

"I don't see that as solving the problem at the end of the day," he said.

"I've been a Republican for 42 years, or coming up on 42 years, and that's really the way I see myself," Mascaro said. "Despite the aspect that they wanted to make it real lucrative in the respect of financial support for whatever Republican I might run against, philosophically I am a Republican."

State Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Holland said that in a meeting held a few days before the March 17 candidate filing deadline, the party offered to provide a campaign manager, some interns and direct mail, valued at about $10,000, plus some door-to-door voter identification work.

The party made the same offer to Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville, and Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, Holland said.

However, Mascaro said he was offered "many, many times more" than $10,000 in campaign work, but would not say how much.

"I can tell you it was considerably more than that."

Holdaway said he wasn't given a firm figure, but was told he would not have to worry about any of his re-election campaign expenses if he made the jump, but he, too, declined.

The sales pitch swayed a few registered Republicans to switch parties and take on GOP incumbents, including former Rep. Hogue, a five-term legislator from Riverton who left the House to challenge Sen. Howard Stephenson.

Now Hogue is a Democrat, trying to reclaim his old seat from Rep. Carl Wimmer, who is among the Legislature's most conservative Republicans.

Hogue said he was considering the switch well before he met with the Democratic Party, because he believes the Republicans aren't representing average Utahns.

"The rank-and-file Republican people, I think, are great people. . . . The Republican leadership is, to me, corrupting the political process," Hogue said. "I don't believe we're going to get a change in Utah for the betterment of the citizens until we get a change in leadership."

Hogue said the party set him up with a campaign manager - a political science student at Westminster College - and printed some buttons. They may provide more staff and mailings later, he said, but he also plans on doing fundraising of his own. "I'm expecting nothing different than the Republican Party would offer," he said.

Holland also convinced Steven Baugh, a Brigham Young University professor and former Alpine School District superintendent, and Paul Thompson, the former president of Weber State University, to run against conservative Republican incumbents in Utah County.

"They just said enough is enough," said Holland.

Holland said the party is trying to replicate what Democrats did in Kansas, where the party was able to convert five Republicans who believed their party had moved too far right to run as Democrats. Four of them won.

The Utah Democratic Party's state fundraising account reported a $22,644 deficit in its most recent filing, but its federal account reported $135,046 in the bank through the end of March.

Rep. Eric Hutchings, R-Kearns, was the last sitting legislator to change parties. Before filing for re-election in 2002, Hutchings, who had been appointed to complete the term of retiring Democratic Rep. Gary Cox, announced he was switching teams. He said he wasn't offered any incentives when he crossed over.

"They offered me no assistance, no support, no money. I wasn't offered anything," Hutchings said.

Stan Lockhart, chairman of the Utah Republican Party, said his party has not tried to recruit Democrats.

"It's not something that's typically done. Most of the time parties are so busy trying to help their own candidates they don't go out there recruiting the other party's elected officials," he said.