In ending 12 years of Democratic reign in the Utah Attorney General's Office, Mark Shurtleff helped Republicans regain control of every elected post in state government.
Shurtleff buried Democrat Reed Richards, two-term Attorney General Jan Graham's chief deputy, 57.5 percent to 39.5 percent Tuesday after polls showed the two running neck and neck until the final week. Libertarian Andrew W. McCullough captured 3 percent, according to final but unofficial results with all but two precincts reporting.
Graham, who was often at odds with Republicans, was the only Democrat in a statewide office. Democrat Paul Van Dam held the post for four years prior to Graham. The GOP last controlled all statewide offices after the 1984 election.
Two other incumbent Republicans had no problem keeping their offices in the state Capitol. State Treasurer Ed Alter won a sixth four-year term and State Auditor Auston Johnson earned a second full term. The Democrats didn't field a candidate in either race.
"Open government, I think, suffers when you have all elected offices in the same party," Richards said.
Shurtleff, 43, said he will maintain the office's independence while representing the governor and the people of Utah.
Fighting crime, particularly the proliferation of methamphetamine labs, will top Shurtleff's to-do list. And immediately after declaring victory Tuesday, he turned into a tough-talking lawman.
"I will not rest. I will not stop. I will not desist in my efforts to put criminals behind bars," he said.
As attorney general, Shurtleff will appoint the state's first so-called "porn czar," a pornography ombudsman the Legislature funded in the last session. Shurtleff intends to expand the position to help parents block explicit material on the Internet from children. He put those who expose children to cyberporn on notice that "I'm coming after you."
Shurtleff and Richards went after each other hard in the final days preceding the election. Shurtleff said he thinks the difference was "(Richards) went negative. I didn't." Richards' ads in the final days accused Shurtleff of taking money from tobacco companies.
Richards was hard-pressed to explain what happened down the stretch other than Shurtleff outspent him on media ads. Shurtleff spent more than $550,000 on his campaign, which included healthy doses of cash from national GOP organizations funneled through the Utah Republican Party.
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