Party officials are rolling out a major public relations campaign to boast of their accomplishments.

"I just don't see that the brand is tarnished or needs to be polished up, but I do think the message has been lost in the static," said Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo.

Preliminarily, the party expects to spend about $250,000 on the media blitz through the end of the year. Republican officeholders, from legislators to the governor, congressional members, county parties and lobbyists have been asked to help pick up the tab.

"We just want to get buy-in from Republicans, so as we go out to the general voter all of us in the party are moving forward with a cohesive message to the voters in the state," said Stan Lockhart, chairman of the Utah Republican Party.

Lockhart said he doesn't want to discuss specifics on the project yet, but billboards should begin popping up around the June 24 primary.

The ad campaign comes after Utah Republicans were stung by a defeat on a private school voucher referendum, racially incendiary comments by Sen. Chris Buttars during the last legislative session, a lawsuit alleging they defied the Utah Constitution on an education bill and allegations that they are generally out of touch. Nationally, the outlook for the party is bleak because of a sputtering economy and an unpopular war.

What has been missed by some in Utah, says Bramble, has been record increases in education spending, huge investments in transportation projects, major tax cuts, a balanced budget each year and national publications naming Utah as the best-managed state, all under Republican control.

"The point is, there is this apparent lack of objectivity" in the media, said Bramble. "So how do we communicate the rest of the story? How do citizens get the information on what has happened in the state?"

The party offered a sneak preview of how it plans to spread the word during its state convention last month, rolling out the "I can" campaign, a play on the last four letters in Republican, with buttons that had slogans like "I can dream big," "I can start my dream business," "I can pay less taxes." Others were more offbeat, like "I can eat sushi."

The slogans, seemingly targeted at young people, have the tag line: "Leadership that delivers for you."

"I think what they're trying to do is put lipstick on a pig. They've basically had nothing but failure with closed-door caucuses and vouchers and everything else," said Wayne Holland, chairman of the Utah Democratic Party. "If I was in charge of a party that had failed that much, I'd put some lipstick on that pig, too."

Democrats have attempted similar branding campaigns in the past, including posting billboards telling drivers stuck in I-15 reconstruction that that they could thank Republicans for the traffic jam.

Holland said Democrats this year are focusing their effort on grass-roots and candidate recruitment, rather than splashy media campaigns.

The GOP hired Riester, public relations consultants who bill themselves as "brand activists." The firm has done campaigns for Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., Gold's Gym and the Arizona lottery. It currently is doing a statewide anti-methamphetamine campaign.

Riester spokesman Jim Dissett said the campaign will include billboards and direct mail, and he wouldn't rule out television and radio ads to get the message out.

"People don't always make the connection between what happens in government and how it impacts their lives, so this is also an effort to let people know that what politicians do does indeed impact your life," said Dissett, who says it's more like an educational campaign than a political one.

The lesson that Bramble hopes voters take away is that, despite distractions that grab the headlines, the state is in capable hands.

"We hope that goes into every household and the hearts and minds of the citizens of the state," he said.