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Washington • Air Force One has flown over Utah several times so far in President Barack Obama's six years in office, zooming to California, Nevada or Washington or headed overseas.

But the president has yet to drop into the Beehive State. In fact, Utah is now one of only three states that Obama hasn't visited since he took office in 2009.

Obama crossed off another state last week when he flew into Boise, Idaho, for remarks after his State of the Union, making the Gem State the 47th to host a presidential visit. In addition to hitting almost every state, Obama has visited 48 countries.

But not Utah.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said last week that he wasn't sure when Obama might hit the final three states ­— Utah, South Carolina and South Dakota — but that the president would like to stop by each of them.

The trip to Idaho came because it's a state that invests in programs that help the middle class, Earnest said, and not because Obama was checking off unvisited states.

"I don't know that he would describe it as his bucket list, because he's been to Idaho before," Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One. "But I do think the president would like the opportunity to visit all 50 states as president of the United States. Hopefully we'll be able to get that done in the next two years."

Then-Sen. Obama last stepped into Utah in August 2007 while running for the Democratic nomination. He was only scheduled to join a fundraiser in Park City but stuck around to talk when a large crowd gathered.

"This was supposed to be a 15-minute stop with about 20 people," Obama told the crowd during a short stump speech. "Somehow this grew a little bit."

Of course, Obama may have his reasons why Utah isn't anywhere near the top of his itinerary.

In 2012, the state handed Obama's opponent, Mitt Romney, the highest margin of victory of any state, with nearly 73 percent of the vote. Obama got 25 percent, nine points fewer than in 2008.

Romney, for the record, now officially lives in Utah, so perhaps the president is just giving him some space.

Utah historian Ron Fox says the last president who failed to visit Utah was Calvin Coolidge, who served until 1929, though Dwight Eisenhower only gets credit for stopping by the state because he stepped a few feet inside at the Four Corners.

President George W. Bush was happy to stop by Utah, doing so four times during his presidency.

If we needed to give Obama a reason to visit Utah, here are a few: Gov. Gary Herbert is the vice chairman of the National Governors Association, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker is president of the National League of Cities and Sen. Curt Bramble is the president-elect of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Morning email • Snack on Political Cornflakes, The Salt Lake Tribune's morning dish of political news. Join our mailing list by emailing cornflakes@sltrib.com or follow us on Twitter,@SLTribPolitics. Check back at politicalcornflakes.com for regular updates.

Burr has reported for nearly a decade from Washington, D.C., for The Salt Lake Tribune. He can be reached at tburr@sltrib.com or via Twitter @thomaswburr.