Democratic Rep. Bill Orton didn't get washed away in the apparent Republican wave that rippled through Utah and the nation Tuesday.
"We continue to flabbergast everyone in Utah and Utah County, particularly that a Democrat keeps on winning," Orton said in a victory speech shortly after exit polls projected him a big winner just after 8 p.m. Orton will be the only Democrat in Utah's five-member congressional delegation.Contrary to what political pundits are saying, there was no Republican tide rolling across the country, Orton says. If any place in the nation were primed to be caught up in the GOP fervor, it should have been Utah's 3rd Congressional District.
"If that were so, I wouldn't be here," Orton said.
Indeed, Republican Dixie Thompson's message that Orton is beholden to his Democratic buddies in Washington, D.C., didn't play well in the district. Neither did her insistence that partisanship and Republican control of Congress is the way to run government.
"That message doesn't sell well when you have a representative who listens to his constituents," he said.
Orton said his re-election to a third term also shows that as a Democrat he's not out of touch with the district and that he doesn't vote contrary to his constituency.
"My election proves there was not, in fact, a Republican wave," he said.
Still, the only excitement for Republicans at Thompson's election night party was watching Democrats fall nationwide.
Thompson explained her failure to catch the wave in a word: money. A hard worker and aggressive campaigner, she just didn't have enough cash to compete.
"It's a shame that our system has come down to media and PACs controlling who our representatives are," she said.
Had she raised more money, Thompson said, she would have run television commercials and taken out larger ads in Wasatch Front newspapers. She concentrated on rural areas and stretched the few dollars she had. Nevertheless, Thompson didn't even win in Emery County where she serves as a commissioner.
Orton, who sported a donkey lapel pin Tuesday, now finds himself the lone Utah Democrat in Congress. Republican Enid Waldholtz ousted Democratic Rep. Karen Shepherd in the 2nd Congressional District.
Orton said that won't change the way he represents the district, although he knows he will be called on at times to carry the party banner. It's something he'll do while continuing to preach bipar-ti-san-ship.
"As a Democrat, I have a responsibility for representing the party," he said. Orton agrees with many of the Democratic Party's goals but says he disagrees with some of its ways to accomplish them.
Thompson said she wasn't able to make people understand that a vote for Orton, regardless of how independent he professes to be, empowers Democratic leaders who set the nation's agenda. She tried to tie Orton to President Clinton throughout the campaign. Orton took offense at the way Thompson interpreted his votes in Congress.
"There was no animosity on my part. Bill is a nice guy. I was after his voting record," she said.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
District 3 seems incumbent-friendly
Voters in the 3rd Congressional District have been kind to incumbents since the district was formed after the 1980 Census.
Year Incumbent Challenger
1984 74% Howard Nielson (R) 25% Bruce R. Baird (D)
1986 67% Nielson 33% Dale Gardiner (D)
1988 67% Nielson 31% Robert Stringham (D)
1990 Nielson didn't seek re-election
1992 59% Bill Orton (D) 37% Richard Harrington (R)
1994 59% Bill Orton (D) 40% Dixie Thompson (R)
Percentages may not add up to 100, because of third-party candidates.
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3rd District
County Returning Orton Thompson Greenway
Carbon 17 of 17 4,302 1,226 70
Daggett 2 of 2 237 171 9
Duchesne 12 of 12 2,137 1,494 44
Emery 12 of 12 2,037 2,026 7
Garfield 9 of 10 792 857 24
Grand 11 of 11 1,579 801 87
Kane 12 of 12 1,156 967 50
Morgan 8 of 8 1,642 914 449
Piute 5 of 5 375 316 5
Salt Lake 96 of 96 22,084 9,393 565
San Juan 20 of 20 2,047 1,275 77
Sanpete 26 of 26 3,403 2,057 45
Sevier 23 of 23 2,352 2,020 43
Summit 26 of 26 5,056 1,984 149
Uintah 22 of 22 3,588 2,530 70
Utah 199 of 199 35,334 31,895 407
Wasatch 15 of 15 2,672 1,055 58
Wayne 7 of 7 511 571 20
Total 522 of 523 91,304 61,552 2,179