Ross Anderson failed to hide his chagrin as Democratic Party leaders labeled him unelectable and then hand-picked a "moderate" candidate to run against him. He looked on in dismay as his opponent, state Rep. Kelly Atkinson, garnered endorsement after endorsement from a virtual who's who in the Utah Democratic Party.
But Anderson's revenge was the sweetest kind: He won. And he won convincingly."I hope this is the last time we have anybody in the Democratic Party trying to hand-pick a candidate simply on the basis of his gender, race or religion," a jubilant Anderson said during a rowdy victory celebration Tuesday night.
Merrill Cook could almost say the same thing.
In 1988 he jumped from the Republican Party to challenge then-GOP Norm Bangerter, who had just pushed the biggest tax increase in the state's history through the Utah Legislature.
Cook got some sweet revenge Tuesday night as well, winning the GOP nomination to the 2nd Congressional District just months after rejoining the Republican Party after eight years - and three elections - as an independent. He's often been at odds with elected GOP officeholders on one issue or another since 1988.
But Anderson and Cook will enjoy their revenge for only a short time. Now they face each other in what Cook says will be "the classic political race in Utah: conservative vs. liberal."
Just moments before declaring victory in the atrium of the Embassy Suites Hotel Tuesday night in downtown Salt Lake City, Cook said he guessed he'd raise another $500,000 for the final push to the U.S. House - a total campaign bill of $1 million. "I've funded this first part (of the campaign) myself," said a beaming Cook.
Cook, who traditionally funded his own races in the past decade, has put more than $400,000 into his 1996 race so far. "But now this other half has to come from (outside) contributions. I'm going to spend the next two months, except for some time giving speeches or in debates with (Anderson), raising money. We've only sent out one initial fund-raising letter. Starting Wednesday we go at this (fund raising) full time."
Anderson relishes the prospect of running against Cook. "The No. 1 issue facing voters is our federal fiscal policy, and Merrill's approach, like that of the right-wing Republicans, is to slash social and cultural programs without much regard for the truly needy," he said.
"I believe just as strongly as Merrill does that we need to balance the budget and eliminate the accumulated national debt. But I know we can do that without hurting those in need. Our nation has a proud tradition of being compassionate toward the economically disadvantaged," said Anderson.
But will Anderson's liberal stand on social issues deter conservative and moderate Democrats come No-vem-ber? "Absolutely not," Anderson said, adding that he views community and nation as one large family "in which we should treat each other with the love and compassion of brothers and sisters. My views on social issues are driven by that view."
And as with any family, there is plenty of room for different views and opinions, conservative, liberal and in between.
But Cook plans to make Anderson's liberal politics the issue of the campaign. Cook said he'd be talking about tax reform and flat-rate income tax of 17 percent "while (Anderson) will be talking about raising taxes on the rich to pay for social programs. I'll be talking about fighting crime and victim rights, and Rocky (Anderson's nickname) will be talking about criminals' rights and how the state `murdered' a Hi Fi Shop killer. He'll be talking about allowing same-sex marriages, and I'll be talking about bringing back families in America."