(C) 1998 Deseret News

Everyone agrees the West needs more attention.Everyone agrees a regional presidential primary probably will lure future presidents to states in the West to learn about issues that affect their land, air, water and economies.

But Gov. Mike Leavitt is going to have to do some fast dancing to get support -- and logistics -- for a Western presidential primary ironed out so the event can be on the books for Saturday, March 11, in the year 2000.

Laws must be changed; formidable expenses must be covered.

Much must happen between now and March 11, 2000, when -- under a plan driven by Leavitt -- eight states have tentatively agreed to hold a Western presidential primary.

"Most legislatures will need to pass some kind of legislation this session in order to move it forward for 2000," said Vicki Varela, deputy chief of staff for Leavitt. "There's a lot that needs to be done." And little has, representatives in each of the states involved -- Colorado, Idaho, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah and Nevada -- told the Deseret News in recent interviews.

Idaho's governor-elect hasn't really thought about it.

Arizona Gov. Jane Dee Hull favors the plan but has not totally checked off on the Western states primary.

New Mexico's political system is locked in a paralyzing headlock between Republican Gov. Gary Johnson and a state Legislature dominated by Democrats -- and the proposed Western primary may be one issue trampled in the ruckus.

"In New Mexico, we usually take two or three years to decide an issue," said Robin Otten, superintendent of regional licensing in New Mexico and a proponent of the Western primary.

"We need to understand that this is not a manana issue. This needs to be done this year."

Leavitt will fine-tune support Friday in meetings of the Western Governors Association taking place in Arizona.

Varela says the Western states are about where Leavitt expected them to be.

"We wouldn't expect that very much would have taken place so far." In the coming months, Utah will provide states with data and support to help move things along.

So far, most states philosophically support the plan to interrupt the chaotic, illogical method of ushering a candidate toward the nation's top office with a primary to be tucked between those in California and New York on March 7, 2000, and Super Tuesday -- when Texas and Southern states hold primaries -- the second Tuesday in March.

Leavitt has been on a mission to correct the odd practice by which Americans nominate people to the top office.

The winter before a national presidential election, candidates go to tiny hamlets in Iowa and New Hampshire, whose party caucuses and primaries are the first test of electability. The country's vast political punditry turns its eye on these spots. Candidates address the regional issues. They talk about corn subsidies and the price of heating oil.

And the West gets left out. So Leavitt and other members of the Western Governors Association decided to change that. Their plan was approved by a regional task force that included representatives from the states. Each state legislature must still enact it.

Individually, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado are too small to command much attention -- although three of them have held presidential primaries on different dates before.

But collectively, there would be 312 Democratic delegates and 233 Republican delegates up for grabs in an eight-state primary -- sizable shares of the 2,146 Democratic and 966 Republican delegates required to win the respective nominations.

Still, the plan faces an uphill battle.

Governors in the eight states may be supportive, but they may not have their state lawmakers on board. And in this time of transition, there are great demands on a governor's time.

For example, at recent meetings of the Republican Governors Association in New Orleans, Leavitt asked a handful of governors to pow-wow with national reporters about the primary.

Only one, Republican Gov.-elect Kenny Guinn of Nevada, went.

Guinn told reporters his state's top issues -- gaming and mining -- need better understanding. "This would be beneficial. There's no question about it."

Mike Bogert, who works with Idaho's Gov.-elect Dirk Kempthorne, said the newly elected official is scrambling to get oriented on this and a variety of issues.

"We are taking a good hard look at it," Bogert said. " We haven't seen a bill yet. There's nothing hovering around out here that's concrete."

The plan has some support in Colorado, but religious leaders and Colorado Secretary of State Vikki Buckley have objected on grounds the Saturday schedule disregards the day of worship for some religions.

Voting on Saturday shows "a lack of sensitivity to the religious observations of Jews and other denominations," said Rabbi Stanley Wagner, chaplain emeritus for the Colorado Senate.

Saturday is the holy day of the week for Jews and Seventh-day Adventists.

"Such a primary is little more than a regional political ego trip for career politicians who would place an unnecessary financial burden on the citizens of Colorado," Buckley said recently at a gathering of the nation's state secretaries of state.

Leavitt has tried to address concerns about voting on Saturday, offering a variety of suggestions from advanced mail-in and drop-off voting to extending poll hours later to accommodate Jews whose holy day ends at sundown.

In Arizona, Hull says the plan has some good components. But Arizona already has an early primary in February, which gives the state a strong say in national presidential politics. However, the early date eliminates Democratic participation because of National Democratic Party rules.

"Now we have to talk to a lot of other people down here, see how everyone feels about this," she said.

Montana Gov. Marc Racicot, a Republican, endorses the Western states primary, his spokesman, Andrew Malcolm, says.

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The governor enjoys an 87 percent approval rating in the state, both houses of the Legislature are controlled by Republicans and "we believe they will go along" in setting up such a primary, Malcolm says.

Interviewed at the task force meeting, Leavitt said smaller Western states such as Montana are realistic.

They know that presidential candidates may not stop in Montana, which unlike Utah doesn't have a core population center, to campaign. That's why Leavitt is looking at doing something like regional presidential debates, where Montana or Wyoming media go to Boise or Salt Lake City to participate in a debate, which in turn is broadcast to those smaller states via special TV hookups.

And certainly, says Malcolm and Leavitt, rural, Western issues addressed in the larger states -- like Utah, Colorado and Arizona -- would benefit Montanans as well.

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