Utah Democrats even did better than the national Democrats. Of course it was a big disappointment not to win more races in Utah. But I'm always one to say the glass is half full.

Congressman Jim Matheson's tremendous victory is a credit to him. He is a wonderful voice and champion for Utah and the voters showed their respect and appreciation by sending him back for another term. (And, I might add, with his largest margin of victory.)

The election of Salt Lake County Mayor-elect Peter Corroon and Councilwoman-elect Jenny Wilson was a gigantic victory for Utah Democrats. Voters showed they wanted new leadership and wanted the county to be scandal-free. Peter Corroon now becomes the highest-ranking Democrat in the state. Not only does he have amazing credentials, he has the temperament and work ethic to bring the needed changes in county government. He will be a great spokesperson for our party.

Democrats also won some very important elections in the Utah House and Senate. In Senate District 1, long-time community servant Fred Fife won his election, beating a tough incumbent and a very hard worker, James Evans.

And in the House, Tim Cosgrove had a resounding victory, beating Rules Committee Chairman Chad Bennion - not an easy task.

These two victories were not only symbolically important, they showed that the Democrats worked very hard and campaigned on the issues and won.

Losing Eli Anderson in the House is a terrible loss for rural Utah and for the Democratic Party. I believe Eli was swept aside by a high Republican voter turnout. We will be sending two strong voices to the House with the elections of Ross Romero and Mark Wheatley.

Over the next few weeks political pundits will analyze this election and talk about what worked and what did not work. We've heard a lot about values this election. I believe those values are the values of a strong public education, health care for all Utahns, good-paying jobs and clean air and water. These are values that Utah Democrats work for every single day, values that Utah Democrats will continue to work for during the legislative session.

Scott Matheson Jr. deserves special recognition for the wonderful gubernatorial campaign he ran and the energy he provided not only to Democrats, but to independents and Republicans alike. Scott made education the centerpiece of this election year and Utah children will be better off because of that.

Utah Democrats had an uphill battle and will continue to struggle when people vote a straight party ticket, but I believe we can continue to move forward.

Utah Democrats had a little different game plan this year. We were not afraid to point out real differences with some of our opponents. We were not afraid to show some important contrasts. We were more aggressive and we worked very hard. We had the very best candidates - and each of them make all of us so very proud. Nor could we have done what we did without the help of thousands of volunteers and our strong county party leaders.

For the first time since before 1992, Utah Democrats had a full slate of candidates running for every statewide office, every federal office, and 15 of our 15 state Senate races. This is very significant.

Many will wonder where we go from here? I say we will go forward! Now is the time to regroup, recharge our batteries and refocus on winning more elections in 2006. Now is the time to call your precinct chair, your legislative district chair and your county party chair and tell them how you will volunteer for the party.

We must continue to build on the important foundation we laid this year and look to the future. Never before has the Utah Democratic Party had so many volunteers, donors and energized staff. Yes, it is disappointing we did not win more, but we did win! And we will continue to fight for the issues Utahns care about.

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Donald K. Dunn is chairman of the Utah State Democratic Party.