Democrats in Utah fight behind enemy lines. The state’s governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state treasurer, and state auditor are all Republicans. Republicans have 21 seats in the state senate to the Democrats’ 8, and 53 seats in the state house to the Democrats’ 22.
Republicans in Massachusetts fight behind enemy lines. The state’s governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of the commonwealth, attorney general, and state auditor are all Democrats. Democrats have 35 seats in the state senate to the Republicans’ 5 and 144 seats in the state house to the Republicans’ 16.
Federal government representation in Utah has 2 Republican
Senators, 2 Republican Representatives, and 1 Democrat Representative.
Federal government representation in Massachusetts has 1 Republican Senator, 1 Democrat Senator, and all 10 house seats are held by Democrats.
In 2008, Utahs gave John McCain 62% of the vote and Barack Obama 34%. The results are similar for Massachusetts in that Barack Obama had 62% of the vote and John McCain 36%.
Overall, it seems that Massachusetts is as much Democrat as Utah is Republican.
The purpose of this post is mostly informative, but also inspired by a local Democratic candidate for House District 60 in which I live. Alan Keele (D) is running against Brad Daw (R). I know Brad Daw personally, and I know Alan Keele from BYU. He was a professor of German and had an office just down the hall from me. I also used to live by his aged uncle. I knew Alan Keele to be a respected professor (more evidence that BYU is not monolithically Republican) and he seemed to be a reasonable man. I read some of his campaign literature to see if he could be a Democrat I could vote for (I am always looking for such a candidate). He seemed to be saying all the right things, i.e., fiscal responsibility, good on education, even the usual stuff about the environment, but then I ran across this line: "A one-party system benefits only extremists. Think of Cuba or North Korea." I was deflated. He is comparing Utah (and Massachusetts
for that matter) to Cuba and North Korea, and implying that Utah Republicans are dictators (and MA Dems as well, I guess). In Utah and Massachusetts, other parties are allowed to operate and run for office. That is not the case in Cuba and North Korea. Opposing persons are either dead or in prision. So such a statement was too over the top for me. I will be sticking with Brad Daw.
2 comments:
As well you should. Stick with Daw.
If a Dem is stupid enough to make such an unreasonable comment, too bad for him.
I appreciated your post and comparison but you neglected an important point: Mitt Romney was a very recent Republican governor in MA. That CANNOT happen in Utah.
Good post. Nice insight on your process. Doug has a point too. Just enjoyed this post nothing to add.
Post a Comment