Who says you can't have second chances?
John Swallow asked 2nd Congressional District Republicans for another chance to beat Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson. Tuesday they gave it to him.
Incomplete vote totals gave Swallow a narrow lead over his GOP challenger Tim Bridgewater, 53-47 percent.
If Swallow's lead holds up, then 2002 is replaying itself in 2004.
Two years ago, Bridgewater and Swallow came out of the state Republican convention one-two, with Bridgewater preferred by Republican delegates. But Swallow nipped Bridgewater (52-48 percent) in the 2002 June primary.
Swallow hopes for a different final outcome this fall. Two years ago he narrowly lost to Matheson — by less than 1 percentage point.
As election results rolled in, a smiling Swallow said around 10 p.m. Tuesday: "We feel confident and optimistic. I think we're going to win. It's been a challenging race."
Swallow said he now needs Bridgewater's help to have a better shot at Matheson in November.
There will be a Republican U.S. senator, governor and president on the ballot with the 2nd District Republican this year "to ride their coattails. But I believe I'm the right candidate with the right message" to defeat Matheson.
Late Tuesday, Bridgewater pointed out that many rural counties had not yet been fully counted, but of the ones where many early votes were in, he was ahead in Washington and Grand counties. Bridgewater said he focused a lot of effort in those counties this year.
He lost Washington County big in his 2002 primary defeat.
Matheson knew that no matter which Republican he ended up facing this year, it will be a long, tough fight in the heavily Republican 2nd District.
Matheson knew Republicans would be coming after him this year. He's raised a lot of cash — with most of the current Democratic members of the House already contributing to his campaign.
He has also been focusing his efforts on rural Utah, trying to win hearts in conservative enclaves like Washington County, where he lost badly in 2002. With a strong base in Salt Lake County, he knows a decent showing in rural Utah will go a long way toward winning a third term.
Utah's 2nd District is one of only 40 or so seats in the 435-member U.S. House that political experts believe can change hands in November. And with Republicans holding a 2-dozen-seat majority in the House, every swing district is important.
Swallow has leaned heavily in fund raising on the Club For Growth, a national, pro-Republican, pro-business group that collects individual contributions and then bundles them into selected GOP House races.
Swallow, who never really stopped running for Congress after his 2002 defeat to Matheson, outspent Bridgewater 2-to-1 this year.
Bridgewater said this race really wasn't about money but about finding a guy who can beat Matheson. Bridgewater liked to say if you look at a map of the western United States, there was only one big blue area — Matheson's 2nd District — surrounded by all the red U.S. House districts held by Republicans.
Just in the past two weeks, Bridgewater, a millionaire who runs a small capital investment firm, put another $35,670 into his race. In total, he had given or loaned his campaign just under $200,000, just over half of all the money he'd raised.
Swallow has spent $523,000 so far to win a second shot at Matheson.
E-mail: spang@desnews.com; bbjr@desnews.com