Utah's Reform Party starts its official work Saturday when the party's few leaders hold their first state convention to elect party officers.
Moving from a party defined by a rich, eccentric candidate to a functioning grassroots political organization is a very tough step. And that's the challenge faced by Claire Geddes and other Utah Reform Party stalwarts.Ross Perot, of course, is the man behind the Reform Party. He ran for president in 1992 as an independent, then formed a citizen action group, and now forms a political party. He did well in Utah, finishing second - one of only two states where he did that. Perot finished ahead of President Clinton in this state, getting 27 percent of the vote to Clinton's 25 percent.
And at one time in 1992 - before Perot quit the presidential race only to get back in again - Perot was well ahead of Clinton and close to then-GOP President George Bush in Utah.
In any case, 27 percent is still a great base from which to start forming a local party. But Perot's popularity has drifted over the past four years, both here and across the nation.
A recent Deseret News/KSL poll conducted by Dan Jones & Associates found that if the presidential election were held in Utah today, Perot would get only 7 percent support.
The Reform Party's organization is starting small here. Geddes has booked the Holladay branch library for her state convention. It will hold from 100 to 200 people. Geddes doesn't expect a big crowd.
Merrill Cook knows something about running for office and forming political parties. He's done both. And he quit the Independent Party of Utah after a disappointing defeat in 1994 and rejoined the Republican Party, saying third parties just can't make it here.
Cook drew pretty good support in his races, but like Perot he never won. A couple of hundred people used to show up at Independent Party state conventions. But that party never got off the ground. It was always just a vehicle for Cook to get better ballot placement.
(On most Utah ballots, parties are listed at the top and their candidates under the banner. When Cook ran as an independent - small "i" with no party affiliation - for governor in 1988 he was stuck off in the corner of the ballot with some kooky candidates he didn't care to associate with.)
After Cook quit the Independent Party, taking his financial support with him, only six people showed up at the next Independent Party of Utah state convention.
Perot is in the presidential nomination hunt with former Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm. Lamm says Perot is considered a "fringe" candidate by most Americans and can't win a national office. The Reform Party has to move beyond a personality clique to become a real force, says Lamm.
But it's pretty clear Perot will win the Reform nomination. And he'll likely spend millions of dollars of his own money in running for president again this year.
What's unclear now is what impact the Reform Party may have in Utah.
Little, I believe, this year. It won't have big-name, big-buck candidates in local races. Geddes says the state party will interview all the candidates it can and then endorse those who support party ideals - which aren't exactly clear now but will likely follow along the lines of Perot's United We Stand America to include campaign finance and government reform, opposition to NAFTA, etc.
Some local candidates filed under the Reform Party banner - as well as other parties, also. But Geddes says it's not automatic that they will win the endorsement of the party. That will come only after the interviews.
Utah has traditionally had a handful of minor parties - the Socialists, American, American Independent, Independent and Libertarian. None has won significant offices or had a real impact on statewide politics.
Maybe the Reform Party will be different. But success would go against history, and party supporters have a long road ahead.