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Tuesday's primary election has left Ralph Becker with a steep and daunting climb to a third term as Salt Lake City's mayor. The question the incumbent now faces is: How can he make up the huge gap in support by the Nov. 3 general election?

Challenger Jackie Biskupski came out on top of the five-candidate primary field with 46 percent of the vote. Becker was a distant second with 31 percent.

Will the mayor start punching back? Will he go negative? Will he bombard the airwaves?

The path forward is less than obvious, but clearly he must shift the strategy that earned him less than a third of votes cast while significantly outspending his challengers combined.

The unofficial primary totals are compelling because, if they hold up, Biskupski theoretically could be within 5 percentage points of winning. And it is unlikely that many of the 23 percent of voters who cast primary ballots for other candidates would hop to Becker's column.

The mayor does go into the fall campaign with about $370,000 to spend. That's $300,000 more than Biskupski, according to the Aug. 4 campaign-finance report from the Salt Lake City recorder's office.

Going forward, Becker's focus likely will be on undecided voters. According to a July poll commissioned by The Salt Lake Tribune, many voters were in that category.

Only 20 percent of Democrats hadn't made up their minds, but 29 percent of independent voters and 32 percent of Republicans were undecided.

Earlier this month, Becker sent to Republican voters in Salt Lake City a letter from former U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, supporting the mayor's re-election.

Reaching out to Republicans is a good move, said Tim Chambless, a University of Utah professor of political science who also is affiliated with the Hinckley Institute of Politics.

Becker appears more moderate than Biskupski, he said. Salt Lake City's Republican voters comprise about 25 to 30 percent of the electorate and usually turn out to vote, Chambless said.

The mayor also should reach out to students, faculty and staff at the U., the professor said.

The campus is a natural constituency for Becker, who emphasizes the environment and outdoor recreation. "But I just don't see any activity on campus from Becker's campaign," Chambless said.

Going negative is often a knee-jerk response for politicians who trail in polls. But Chambless said if Becker goes negative, he will lose because it would further motivate Biskupski supporters.

Nonetheless, the mayor has to start punching back, said Frank Pignanelli, a political consultant and lobbyist who ran unsuccessfully against former Mayor Rocky Anderson.

The incumbent's position is tough but not impossible, Pignanelli said, because Salt Lake City politics are fluid.

"Jackie has run a brilliant campaign. She defined herself and she defined Ralph," Pignanelli said. Becker "has to ask himself, 'Am I willing to go out and define myself and define Jackie.' "

That may be difficult for the mayor, Pignanelli said, because Becker is, by nature, a reserved person who never has gone negative.

The mayor doesn't have to be nasty, Pignanelli said, but he has to remind voters — who may be mad about parking meters or other gripes — what a great place Salt Lake City has become under his leadership.

"What he can't do is go raise some money and bombard the airwaves," he said. "That won't work."

Because the primary was early, Becker has time to turn people around, Pignanelli noted.

"Salt Lake City politics are not based on ideology," he said. "That makes it more fluid than anywhere else in the state."

In a post-election interview Tuesday evening, Becker said he and his campaign staff would analyze who voted and who didn't as they sketch out their strategy going forward.

That is the only way forward, according to Republican campaign consultant Dave Hansen.

"They must identify voters who support him or may support him," he said, "and make sure they vote."

And it must be done on an individual basis by knocking on doors and making telephone calls.

"It's expensive. It takes a lot of manual labor and time and effort," he said. "But it can be done."

In addition, Becker can't pretend that things are going well.

"He has to paint himself as an underdog," Hansen said. "He needs to have a certain amount of desperation in his message."

And not least, Becker must put some "tarnish" on Biskupski, who has come across as "some golden girl."

"They have to raise doubt," Hansen said, "about her capabilities to be mayor."

The election that once looked to be Becker's to lose, now appears like a long shot for him to win.