Some think they can really win and know they can make a difference in government. Others just want a little attention, maybe hoping that fate will give them a chance to serve.
Whatever their motivation, the large field of candidates for the 1994 elections is set following Thursday night's filing deadline. (A complete list of all candidates will run in Saturday editions of the Deseret News).Top on the ticket finds late-comer Pat Shea, a Democrat facing 18-year incumbent GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch in the U.S. Senate race. Shea stepped up to the plate after Democrat Doug Anderson took himself out of the race Wednesday and state Senate Minority Leader Scott Howell jumped aside Thursday afternoon.
Last-minute Republicans Warren William Hardy, Kent Butler, Stephen Christian Heidt and Gilbert Majcher also filed against Hatch, but their $971 filing fees are probably wasted. Barring any unforeseen disaster for Hatch, he'll be the Republican nominee.
Other last-minute filing surprises:
- Former Davis County sheriff and county commissioner Dub Lawrence is once again challenging U.S. Rep. Jim Hansen within the Republican Party. Lawrence ran as a Republican against Hansen four years ago but was soundly defeated in the 1st Congressional District race. Lawrence then switched to the Independent Party in 1992 but lost again. Now he's filed as a Republican, again. Democrat Bobbie Coray will be Hansen's main challenge in his bid for an unprecedented eighth term.
- Utah Senate President Arnold Christensen, R-Sandy, will retire. During the 1994 Legislature, Christensen confirmed that he wouldn't run again for Senate president but hinted he'd seek re-election. He won't. He failed to file and will retire after 16 years in office, a decade as president.
- Former Salt Lake City/County Health director Harry Gibbons is getting into politics, filing for the state Senate. Also, AFL-CIO state executive director Ed Mayne filed for the Senate. So did Mayne's wife, Karen. In fact, they both filed for the same seat as Democrats and so officially are challenging each other.
But the real news of the day is Shea.
Thursday, Shea said he'd been thinking about the race for some time. Other Democrats - mainly Anderson and Howell - were ahead of him. And Shea had had enough of Democratic primaries - this would be his race alone or he wouldn't get in.
In 1992 Shea ran for governor. Against him was fellow Democratic attorney Stewart Hanson Jr. Shea, a practicing Catholic, early on said he supported Utah's 1991 anti-abortion law - at the time still being challenged in federal court - that basically stopped abortion on demand. Hanson was pro-choice, and his campaign soon became a rallying point for pro-choice advocates and various women's groups. The anti-abortion law was struck down, and Shea lost the Democratic primary election. Hanson went on to place third in the governor's race - an embarrassing showing for the party.
Now Shea will have the nomination without a primary fight. (John Benson also filed as a Democrat in the race, but party officials have never met the man. Benson, a conservative constitutionalist, is given little chance of surviving the state Democratic Convention). And, Shea says, he'll have the support of traditional Democratic groups.
"We had a luncheon meeting on Thursday and all the groups were there and voiced their support, including Utahns For Choice," Shea said. "I want to be a unifying force in this campaign, not a divisive one."
Shea says his "fresh" approach to politics and government - compared with Hatch's "long, long" record - will be the main issue of the campaign.
Picking up on the state Democratic Party's theme in the Hatch race: "24 Years is Too Long, Down The Hatch," Shea said: "Eighteen years is sufficient. You become so ensconced after so much time. We need a fresh look at the problems. We also need someone who has some pull with Washington - with this administration."
Hatch already has more than $1 million in his war chest and could easily raise and spend $4 million. Shea says he'll be competitive on the money side, raising and spending upwards of $1 million. But money won't matter that much, he believes.
"In 1992, $12 million was spent in Utah's Senate race. About 80 percent of that went to TV and other advertising. It got to the point where people tired of it (the advertising)."
Shea, always big on debates and forums, says he wants a lot of those this campaign season. And he'll probably shine in debates. Shea is a graduate of Stanford University, where he was student body president. Like President Clinton, Shea was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in England. Following that honor, he went to Harvard Law School. He is 46 years old, married to a nurse and is the father of two boys. He was the corporate counsel for KUTV Channel 2 for several years but is now in private law practice.
He has considerable ties to Washington - which he hopes will help him with some national fund raising - having worked twice on Congressional committees. He was Utah State Democratic Party chairman 1983-85. He was Utah's national committeeman 1988-92.