PROVO -- Sporting a new platform aimed at attracting mainstream voters, Utah County Democrats proclaimed Tuesday a historic turning point in one of the country's most conservative areas.
Democratic candidates for the Utah Legislature triumphantly marched down University Avenue to the county Elections Office, where they filed their intent to challenge Utah County's all-Republican legislative delegation.Some called the full slate of Democratic candidates a minor miracle.
"A few years ago, we had an election with almost all Republicans unopposed, and that was a crying shame," said Greg Duerden, a businessman seeking to replace outgoing Rep. Marlon Snow, R-Orem.
The Utah County Democratic Party's new platform is expected to be adopted at the group's April 6 county convention. Candidates believe the platform will convince voters that local Democrats are different from stereotypical tax-and-spend liberals who favor abortion.
An example of Utah County Democrats' new-found influence and effort to convince voters of their move toward the political center is Friday's scheduled Provo speech by Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif. Sanchez, co-chair of the Democratic National Committee since 1999, will speak at a $50-a-plate lunch at Riverside Country Club Friday at noon.
When she was named co-chairwoman of the DNC last year, Sanchez was hailed as a moderate who would help Democrats on the national stage shed much of the party's liberal image.
Local Democratic candidates and donors will meet with Sanchez, but the public is also invited to attend.
Several Democrats who filed to run in the November election said they were disgruntled former Republicans who thought Utah County's GOP had moved too far to the right.
"I have been really disaffected by the (Republican) Party, and I just can't stomach the far-right element," said Provo High School assistant principal Sam Ray, running for a seat being vacated by outgoing Rep. Jordan Tanner, R-Provo.
Democrats said they would try to persuade Utah County voters to look at candidates' qualifications rather than their political affiliation. But it won't be easy.
"In terms of (Democrats') philosophy and where they come from, not much has changed," said Utah County Republican Party chairman Stan Lockhart.
Democrats counter by saying Utah County Republicans shot themselves in the foot by allowing arch-conservatives to gain control. Democratic candidate Lawrence C. Walters, a Brigham Young University public policy and management professor, said Democrats in Provo represent "the party of moderation."
"We want people to have a voice for what they already believe in," said Democratic Party Chairwoman Nancy Jane Woodside. "It's not that people don't like Democrats. They don't know Democrats."
The best chance for Democrats to regain representation in the county's legislative delegation might be in districts where incumbents aren't seeking re-election.
Besides Tanner and Snow, outgoing lawmakers include Sen. Howard C. Nielson, R-Provo; Sen. Robert M. Muhlestein, R-Mapleton; and Rep. Bill Wright, R-Elberta.
Wright has said he will seek Muhlestein's Senate seat. Among Republicans who already have said they will seek Snow's seat are Kevin Call, executive vice president of the Utah County Association of Realtors; and Richard Davis, a BYU political science professor.
Former legislator Byron Harward intends to seek Wright's House seat, and two high-profile Republicans have filed for Nielson's Senate post. Curt Bramble and former Provo Mayor Joe Jenkins will square off at the county Republican convention April 29 for the right to run for that seat.
The filing period for state races ends Friday. Local caucus meetings, where voters choose delegates to represent them at their respective parties' conventions, are slated for March 27.