This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Scott Howell instantly set himself apart at his party's state convention Saturday by making his speech to fellow Democrats in front of the podium instead of behind it.
Flanked by a lively contingent of supporters on the Calvin S. Rampton Salt Palace Convention stage, the U.S. Senate candidate pepped up the audience with a promise to bring his experience to bear — with their help — to defeat the GOP nominee come Nov. 6. That candidate will be determined in a June 26 primary between Sen. Orrin Hatch and former state Sen. Dan Liljenquist.
"Join me. Together we will win!" boomed the former minority leader of the Utah state Senate. "Stand up, stand up and take a bow."
And, not too long after the crowd stood up to send him off stage with cheers and noisy applause, the balloting defied the conventional wisdom and gave Howell enough of the 2,537 delegate votes to handily avoid a primary against Pete Ashdown.
The IBM executive and former member of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Olympics was the party's nominee in the 2000 election, losing convincingly to Hatch.
Democrats packed the convention hall with what State Party Chairman Jim Dabakis said was the biggest delegate contingent ever — and one packed with diversity and many enthusiastic newcomers.
While the Senate result might have been a surprise, most of the rest of the voting was less so.
U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson ran unopposed for the 4th Congressional District nomination and will face Republican Mia Love, the mayor of Saratoga Springs, in November.
In his acceptance speech, he said he was like many Utahns who are fed up with partisan politics in Washington and promised to continue his "common sense" approach to jobs, education, energy and other key issues. He called the partisans "extremists."
"You have someone," he told the audience, "who will work hard to put Utah first."
Chris Stout is the Democrats' nominee for state treasurer, Mark Sage is the nominee for auditor and Dee Smith is the attorney general nominee.
Peter Cooke and newly selected running mate Vince Rampton sounded ready for the upcoming battle against incumbent GOP Gov. Gary Herbert and Lt. Gov. Greg Bell.
Cooke said he wasn't thinking much about the fact that the Herbert/Bell team had to go to a second ballot at the GOP convention in Sandy.
"We are idealistic about the future of our state," he told conventiongoers, "but have no illusion about the task in front of us."
Among the contested races, only the 1st Congressional District hopefuls, Donna McAleer and Ryan Combe, face a primary for the opportunity to challenge incumbent GOP Rep. Rob Bishop in the fall.
In the 2nd Congressional District, former state House Rep. Jay Seegmiller will be the party's nominee. In the 3rd District, it will be Salt Lake City Councilman Soren Simonsen. And in state House District 69, Rep. Christine Watkins is the nominee for that seat.
House Rep. Patrice Arent will remain the national committeewoman, while former party chairman Wayne Holland will be national committeeman.
Twitter: @judyfutah