Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City)
GOP
club straw poll gives Huntsman 66% of vote:
Salt Lake County delegates voted for him by 66%
By Leigh Dethman
April 7, 2004
Some Salt Lake County delegates heavily favor Jon Huntsman
Jr. in the
upcoming governor's race, according to straw poll votes
tallied Monday
night.
More than 250 delegates cast their ballots in the unofficial
poll,
sponsored by the Holladay-Cottonwood Republican Club. In the
first round of balloting, Huntsman took in 40 percent of the
first-place votes.
Merit Medical founder and chief executive Fred Lampropoulos
received 19 percent of the top votes, incumbent Gov. Olene
Walker pulled in 14 percent and House Speaker Marty Speaker
received 11 percent. The candidates garnered less than 10
percent.
Using the system that will be used in the state convention, in
the
final round of voting, Huntsman got 66 percent of the vote to
Lampropolous' 34 percent. If those results were reflected in
the May 8 convention, Huntsman would win the Salt Lake County
Republican nomination.
In addition to participating in the straw poll, delegates
heard eight
of the nine gubernatorial hopefuls in a debate at the Salt
Lake County
Government Center. Walker did not participate. She made a
brief appearance before the debate started, and offered a
short statement before being whisked away to an awards
presentation at the Jazz game.
With Democratic nominee Scott Matheson Jr. aiming to win the
governor's seat, Huntsman said it is imperative the Republican
party team up to maintain control of the governorship.
"We've got to keep this in Republican hands,"
Huntsman said. "We've
got a great state, but it can be a whole lot better."
Candidates discussed the controversial SB175, which reversed
portions of Initiative B, passed in 2000. The initiative made
it illegal for police to keep the proceeds of asset forfeiture
a civil court process that allows law enforcement agencies to
seize and sell the property of convicted criminals.
Walker signed the bill into law, a move all eight candidates
questioned.
House Speaker Marty Stephens, R-Farr West, said he would have
vetoed the bill. "The rights of the citizens in this area
were decreased by the passage of that bill," he said.
Huntsman called the bill's passage by lawmakers "the
height of arrogance," considering the initiative passed
with 69 percent of the vote
in 2002.
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