After a quick visit from presidential candidate Barack Obama, Utah Democrats are doing the happy dance of self-actualization Utah Republicans were high-stepping last winter.
The best boost for a political junkie's ego, as all politicians know, is a few platitudes and a handshake. And Utah's maligned-but-perky minority party faithful have seen - count them - four Democratic White House hopefuls sweep through the Beehive State on their way to appearances in battleground states like Nevada, California and New Mexico.
"I believe [Obama] wanted to make a special effort to thank Utahns carrying the torch for him here - a part of the country where Democrats are finding fertile ground and growing opportunities for success," Utah Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Holland said this weekend, very optimistically.
Fertile, indeed.
I almost hate to throw a cold bucket of reality on the blossoming euphoria. Utahns can tell themselves this is evidence of the influence of the state's new early primary date of Feb. 5, 2008. But much as we'd all like to think the Illinois senator is focused on water and the Endangered Species Act and public land and energy - so-called "Western" issues - Obama's three-hour tour Sunday was all about the money.
Just like the rest of the pack - Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney - who have made whistle stops on their way to more important places, Obama recognizes Utah may be redder than red, but the money is still green.
"Anyone would come for $100,000. They'll go to North Dakota if it means $100,000," says Quin Monson, assistant director of Brigham Young University's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy. "And we have a Delta hub, so it's easier."
Predictably, Romney far outpaces any other White House hopeful in Utah fundraising, with $3.8 million raised at repeated receptions and phone-a-thons. But Edwards is third; New York Sen. Hillary Clinton is fifth. With Sunday's $500-a-pop Park City fundraiser, Obama could pass both. So far, he has raised $51,000 from Utah donors.
You'd expect Republican candidates to flock to Utah for checks. Utahns have adopted Romney as their own and the rest of the Republicans hope to be fallback candidates for loyal Utah conservatives if Romney doesn't get the nomination. Some of the Democrats have even stronger ties to this place - Dodd's wife is a native of Utah County and Richardson has locked arms again and again with Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. on Western policy issues.
Still, this rush of Democratic candidates is unique, by sheer numbers. In 1992, Hillary and Bill Clinton came to town. Paul Tsongas spent $50,000 on TV advertising. And Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin had a political machine churning. In 2000, New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley stopped in Utah during his in-party campaign against Vice President Al Gore.
The candidates' single-minded focus on the buck might change with time. But for now, that's the first reason both Republicans and Democrats are touching down in Utah.
Todd Taylor, director of the Utah party, doesn't delude himself. Utah borders on four potential swing states. He accepts that money and press attention are driving the candidates' travel itineraries right now. At the same time, Taylor says, a fundraising stop is a chance to buttonhole a candidate about Utah issues, however briefly. And all the presidential campaign stumping energizes Utah Democrats.
"I want to win the presidency," Taylor says. "And if coming to Utah helps them get there, I want to do that. If not coming to Utah helps them, I'm OK with that."
So, I guess, Hillary will be next to schedule an hors d'oeuvres reception in Park City.
walsh@sltrib.com
