This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
DENVER - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in an interview Thursday he takes pride in the inroads Democrats have made in the West, but is confounded by Utah's loyalty to Republicans.
“What is wrong with the people of Utah? They like where this president has taken this country?” asked the Nevada senator, who is LDS. “People in Utah need to wake up.”
Reid, meeting with other Western officials, noted the gains Democrats have made in Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona. But Utah and Idaho remain firmly entrenched in their Republican devotion, which perplexes him.
He said Utahns should be upset about the Bush wiretap program, torture record and government spending.
“I was thinking Idaho and Utah are very much like we were [in Nevada] 10 years ago,” he said. “It's hard for me to understand why [Utah is] such a Republican state. Utah should be a state that believes in what we stand for.”
