They are breathing easier knowing that the enormously popular Mitt Romney, a Mormon and head of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, won't have quite the sway on Utah voters.

Democrats feared that a McCain-Romney ticket could energize otherwise unenthusiastic Republicans and spoil their chances at winning tightly contested local races - a position shared by the GOP.

After all, former Massachusetts Gov. Romney captured 90 percent of the Republican vote during Utah's presidential primary and raised an unprecedented $5.5 million from the Beehive State.

"If [McCain] picks Romney, it will change the tide in Utah," Salt Lake County Councilman Michael Jensen told fellow Republicans on Thursday, before the Palin pick was announced early Friday. "All of the seats that Democrats had been thinking they had already won, or seats they believed were in play, get reversed."

But now Democrats are relieved, and even trying to turn the "Mitt factor" to their own advantage, calling the Palin pick a "slap in the face" to Romney and his supporters.

"It was an insult to all the people of Utah," Democratic County Councilman Joe Hatch said, arguing that Palin's qualifications pale in comparison to Romney's. "[Voters] should pay that back."

The theme was echoed by other Democrats, including state Party Chairman Wayne Holland. "The way they treated Romney, the way religious intolerance has reared its ugly head, gives us a chance to talk to" Mormon voters, who vote overwhelimingly Republican.

It's a high-stakes election in Salt Lake County, where Republicans - who fill three of four contested County Council seats - must defend their 5-4 majority.

Democrats also hope to erode GOP control of the Utah Legislature, which now tilts heavily Republican. Without Romney on the ticket, insiders say, the minority party's chances go up, especially in swing districts.

Yet Utah Republicans say Palin could have her own energizing effect on voters.

"Women really want to vote for other women," State Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Cottonwood Heights, said. "Not just because they are women, but because they are strong, capable and intelligent."

Republicans downplayed the Mitt factor. The campaign is about principle, they insisted, not about persona.

"People are smarter than that," Republican County Councilman Jeff Allen said. "They will continue to look at the candidates based on their qualifications, their character and their approach to government. It doesn't matter who is on the [presidential] ticket."

Besides, GOP leaders expect Romney, who has family members and a second home in Utah, to stump here for McCain. So even without a spot on the ticket, Romney still may have an impact on local races.

jstettler@sltrib.com Sheena McFarland and Robert Gehrke contributed to this story.