ActBlue — 6 Key Utah State Senate Races

6 Key Utah State Senate Races

by The Leadership Campaign

54
Supporters 1,113
Raised $
Distributed among the recipients below

UPDATES in candidate descriptions refer to the 9/2/08 financial disclosures
—Extensive re-districting in 2001 led to several Democratic losses and a tough field for competition going forward.
—Republicans currently outnumber Democrats 21 to 8 in the State Senate.
—All in all, Democrats have 11 seats to gain vs. 3 to lose on the table.
—In Salt Lake County, the most populous & diverse in the state, Democrats hold 7 of 12 Senate seats (7 of the 8 seats they hold overall).
—5 of those 12 Salt Lake County seats are up for grabs in 2008: 2 open Democrat seats and 3 Repub incumbent seats.
—1 Dem seat is in the bag and not included on this page.
—3 other races remain hotly contested & within the reach of the Democratic candidates, if well-funded.
—1 more is a worthwhile longer-shot.
—2 competitive races outside Salt Lake County, one open Dem seat and one strong challenge to a Republican seat near Ogden, are also included here.
—That makes 6 key races. 4 inside Salt Lake County, 2 outside.
-> We MUST Net 2 seats to break the Republican’s Senate Supermajority.
—Also, see these two Utah candidate fundraising companion pages by The Leadership Campaign:
Key Seat Pick-Up Opportunities in the Utah State House
Protect These Utah State House Seats
—cc: George Soros. ;^)
If you are not a Utahn, Utah thanks you for your help!!!

	On this Page		Across ActBlue
Recipient	Supporters	$ Raised	Supporters	$ Raised
Karen Morgan	17	$218	35	$1,868
Steve Olsen	17	$203	22	$763
Cora Lee JcKowski	14	$118	23	$868
Luz Robles	14	$118	17	$343
John Rendell	14	$178	62	$4,363
Brad King	13	$128	27	$1,593

Karen Morgan

UT-SD-08

OPPONENT: CARLENE WALKER (INCUMBENT)
AREA: Mid-eastern Salt Lake County—Cottonwood Heights and parts of Sandy & Midvale.
UPDATE: Karen is behind $30K to $53K but still poses a serious challenge. This seat is very winnable.
—-I know Karen personally and am a strong supporter. I worked on her House campaign in 2006 and am working on her Senate campaign this year.
—-Karen is a five-term State Representative mounting a serious challenge to a strong incumbent who is vulnerable for several reasons, perhaps most notably for her support of a widely unpopular, egregious school voucher bill. Rep.
—-This race is considered among the best for capturing a new Senate seat.
—-Morgan has championed many issues, with a significant emphasis in the area of education. As a former educator, Rep. Morgan persisted valiantly to achieve important Class Size Reduction law.
—-HOUSE COMMITTEES: Public Education Appropriations; Economic Development & Workforce Services; Transportation; Business & Labor; Ethics; Retirement; Local Issues Task Force; National Conference of State Legislatures Education Committee.
—-AFFILIATIONS: National Chair-Women in Government Foundation, Washington DC; Founder-University of Utah Reading Clinic; Utah Governor’s Literacy Commission; Vice-President, Utah Children’s Reading Foundation; GOED Quality Workforce Task Group; Utah Coalition for Civic, Character & Service Learning Board of Directors; Utah Jump$tart Coalition Board of Directors; 3Rs Advisory Board; University of Utah Alumni Association; Daughters of Utah Pioneers; Utah PTA.
—-Rep. Morgan has won over a dozen awards since 2000 and also
—-FOUNDED the University of Utah Reading Clinic through legislation she passed in 1999.
—-This seat will cost $100,000 – $200,000 to contest effectively.
—-www.karenmorgan.org

Luz Robles

UT-SD-01

OPPONENT: CARLTON CHRISTENSEN (CHALLENGING OPEN SEAT)
AREA: Salt Lake City, West Valley City
UPDATE: Luz is running $39K to $66K behind her opponent and this Dem seat is now in jeopardy.
—-Luz is defending Fred Fife’s seat, whom she beat in the primary. This is a seat Fred won narrowly, 49-46% in 2006; to his credit, he won with half as much funding as his opponent.
—-Luz’s opponent, a long-term, well-regarded moderate Republican, is considered to be perhaps the best single Utah Republican Party recruit of this election cycle. Both candidates can be expected to work hard and the race will be close.
—-Luz is currently the Director for Zion’s Bank Resource Center (business growth assistance) and sits on the 5 boards and 2 committees, all healthcare related. She also serves as an Honorary Commander for Hill Air Force Base.
—-In 2005. Luz was selected to be part of the first National Women Law Center Leadership Co-Hort where she has acquired skills on leadership and advocacy, which she has used in lobbying for several issues, education (defeat of vouchers), domestic violence (as State Diversity Coordinator on the “Utah Domestic Violence Council), and as Health Policy Analyst for “Utah Issue.”
—-She has a bachelor’s in Marketing and a Master’s in Public Administration.
—-And that’s not all. As they say, if you want to get things done, enroll a busy person.
—-This seat will cost $100,000 – $200,000 to defend.
—-http://www.roblesforsenate.com/

John Rendell

UT-SD-10

OPPONENT: CHRIS BUTTARS (INCUMBENT)
AREA: Southwestern Salt Lake Coounty: South & West Jordan & Herriman
John has done an excellent job raising funds ($46K to $27K), but is running behind because his opponent came in with a $75K starting balance. People want his opponent GONE. John is a serious contender, but he needs our help!
—-Rendell is challenging Chris Buttars, a cantankerous old reactionary lout well-known for saying of a particular piece of school-funding legislation: “This baby is black, I’ll tell you. This is a dark, ugly thing.” Racism is not his only unsettling trait; he’s also a strong homophobe and intelligent design (in the science curriculum) nut. After one term, he is already vulnerable.
—-John Rendell—a high-tech executive of many years, past president of several technical groups, and national speaker—decided to run when Buttars crossed an extreme threshold of offensiveness with no sign of conscience. Rendell has a bachelor’s in Information Systems and is a 2009 candidate for an MBA. His platform includes Conduct (open, honest, respectful government), Education, Water, and Budgetary Balance.
—-This seat will cost $100,000 – $200,000 to contest effectively.
—-http://www.electrendell.com/

Steve Olsen

UT-SD-20

OPPONENT: SCOTT JENKINS (INCUMBENT)
AREA: West Weber County, West of Ogden
UPDATE: Steve has outraised his opponent ($15K to $12K), but his opponent retains the advantage because he came into the race with $18K on the books. Steve is a serious contender, but he needs more funding, NOW!
—-I know Steve personally and am an avid supporter. Though he’s way out of my district, I helped raise funds for him in 2006, and I’m back at it.
—-Having gamely challenged Rob Bishop for his U.S. House in 2006, Steve is now mounting a strong campaign against incumbent Scott Jenkins for his State Senate seat in Weber County.
—-A principal engineer at AutoLiv, Inc., Steve has published a very informative, successful little booklet called “Why Most Utahns Are Democrats But Don’t Know It.” Steve has over twenty years of service in Scouting and has served in many church leadership responsibilites.
—-This seat will cost $75,000 – $100,000 to contest.
—-http://steveforstatesenate.blogspot.com/

Brad King

UT-SD-27

OPPONENT: DAVID HINKINS (CHALLENGING OPEN SEAT)
AREA: Southeastern Utah County (Spanish Fork, Mapleton, etc.) & Carbon (Price), Emery (Castle Dale), Grand (Moab) & San Juan (Blanding) Counties
UPDATE: Brad is running seriously BEHIND to a wealthy opponent ($23K to $94K); while STILL the favorite, he needs help.
—-Currently the only Democratic Senate Seat outside Salt Lake County, this seat is strategically critical to the Democratic Party, and is by no means a given. Dmitrich retained the seat with 53% of the vote in 2006, despite having significantly outspent his opponent.
—-A six-term State Representative, Brad King is currently the House Minority Leader, an appointment he received when Ralph Becker was elected Salt Lake City Mayor.
—-Rep. King has now stepped up to fight to retain the open seat of the departing current State Senate Minority Leader in Central Utah, Mike Dmitrich.
—-In the Utah House, Brad’s 2007-2008 Legislative Assignments include: Political Subdivisions Interim Committee; Transportation Interim Committee; Native American Legislative Liaison Committee; Legislative Management Committee; Rural Development Legislative Liaison Committee; Utah International Trade Commission; State Water Development Commission; Budget Subcommittee; Legislative Management Committee, Subcommittee on Oversight
—-King has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and is currently the VP of Institutional Advancement and Student Services at the College of Eastern Utah.
—-Recognitions and affiliations include: Utah School Counselors Association (past president); Utah Professionals in Student Activities (past president); NASPA; Honorary Colonel UHP
—-This seat will cost $100,000 – $150,000 to defend.
—-www.le.state.ut.us/House/members2005/bios2005.asp?id=69

Cora Lee JcKowski

UT-SD-06

OPPONENT: MICHAEL WADDOUPS (INCUMBENT)
AREA: (Western Salt Lake County)—West Jordan, Taylorsville
Cora is making a second run at incumbent Michael Waddoups, who won 57% of the vote against her in 2006. JcKowski is a retired education administrator primary concerned with education legislation, an area in which Utah trails the rest of the nation. She is also interested in broader availability of better healthcare services and alternative energy development in Utah.
Waddoups, on the other hand, is an arrogant, long-term incumbent who feels entitled to his position, runs on lobbyist campaign funds, and serves big business first and foremost.

Total: 00,000