"The telephone repairman came to install the phone line and he told me, 'Hmm, I thought I was the only Democrat in Davis County,' says Peggy Howe, volunteer coordinator at the Kaysville center. "I'm not kidding, not a day goes by that we don't get someone coming in here saying the same thing."

It's no wonder doubt runs rampant. It has been 14 years since Davis County voters elected a Democrat and, in recent years, many Republicans have run unopposed here.

For the record, there are roughly 10,000 registered Democrats in Davis County, which has a population of more than 250,000. Those declared Democrats can expect to be getting a call from Howe or one of her assistants urging them to get out and vote.

"I have to admit, I was a little surprised myself when I saw how many registered Democrats there were on the voter rolls" says Richard Watson, Davis County's Democratic chairman. "If just all those people, alone, got out and voted, we think we can win some elections."

In the meantime, Howe and her crew of volunteers are busy hooking up copy machines and hanging up signs for all of the party's candidates in advance of the Democratic digs' grand opening, scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. State Democratic Chairman Donald Dunn is expected to be on hand, as is Democratic gubernatorial candidate Scott Matheson Jr.

The center, on Kaysville's Main Street, used to house a doctor's office. Party leaders like the small building because it features a good-size waiting room and lots of smaller rooms where candidates or their campaign workers can huddle to strategize, make fund-raising calls or conduct interviews.

"This way, if people want a sign in their yard or a bumper sticker, they know where to go to get one," says Howe, who wondered the same thing when she moved to Utah from California two years ago.

The front office is stocked with pamphlets and contact information on every Democratic candidate from presidential nominee John Kerry to Chris Martinez, who is running for Davis County commissioner.

Dean Collinwood, who has made several runs for office, says the Democratic resurgence is a spillover from a general dissatisfaction with what is happening nationally.

"People are starting to look for alternatives," says Collinwood, who is seeking to unseat Republican Sen. Dan Eastman in Utah Senate District 23. "This building is evidence that is also happening here in Davis County because with such one-party dominance, there is always going to be a certain segment that is underserved and their dissatisfaction is only going to grow."

Democrats are not sure if this is the first time the party has set up a campaign headquarters in Davis County, but it's the first that the current crop of party officials can remember.

Watson says some of the most frequent complaints he has heard since becoming county Democratic boss is that the party has not done enough to support its own candidates.

"Because we don't have a lot of money to work with, we came up with the idea for this center and people to help them run their campaigns."

lorib@sltrib.com