The race has been peppered with bizarre twists and clouded in controversy. But with the ballot now set, the candidates left all that behind Friday and shifted their attention to swaying voters in the final four days.

"We're going to put all of the ugliness behind us and focus on running a solid race to the finish line," pledged Jim Bennett, a spokesman for Republican Ellis Ivory, who won a ballot spot in a speedy ruling Thursday from the Utah Supreme Court.

"We're just focusing on meeting as many people as we can," said Democrat Peter Corroon, who enters the last weekend before Election Day with a slight lead over Ivory in the latest Salt Lake Tribune poll.

Unaffiliated candidate Merrill Cook says his weekend push will consist of handing out 20,000 fliers and hitting up senior centers and shopping centers.

"We'll be doing a lot of that this weekend," said Cook, a former two-term GOP congressman who remains low in the polls.

Still, Cook said he sees undecided voters swinging his way, as well as Democrats and Republicans. "I'm not as far off the pace as the poll shows," he said.

Ivory, a latecomer to the race, aims to educate voters that he is now on the ballot and that they should not write him in. Campaign workers were scurrying to update yard signs, billboards and Ivory's Web site with a new slogan: "Now on the ballot." The signs originally said Ivory was the "write choice" and featured a pencil.

Ivory also cut new radio advertisements Friday and the television spots have been edited to note that he is on the ballot. Ivory also will be out and about in his campaign sign-wrapped bus, making stops all over the county.

"Now that everything has settled down, we're trying to do everything we can to remind people why they should be voting for Ellis Ivory," Bennett said.

In all, the campaign - funded entirely by Ivory - plans to spend $410,000 on media-related efforts.

That's about three times what Corroon will fork out on the electronic media. In total, the Corroon camp says it will spend about $100,000 on TV and $40,000 on radio. That doesn't include newspaper ads.

Corroon - who says he wore a hole in his right shoe Friday while walking neighborhoods - planned honk-and-wave events across the valley, neighborhood visits and phone banking this weekend.

"Victory is only a few days away," Corroon wrote to supporters Friday.

He also plans to trick-or-treat at South Towne Mall and stop by some soccer games and shopping centers.

tburr@sltrib.com