Jon Huntsman Wins Republican Nomination in Utah Governor's Race

[Freddie Stubbs]

June 22 (Bloomberg) -- Jon Huntsman Jr., a former ambassador and son of the billionaire founder of the world's largest closely held chemical company, won the Republican slot to run for the governor of Utah against Democrat Scott Matheson.

A former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative under President George W. Bush, Huntsman, 44, received 65 percent of the vote, with 916 of 1,316 precincts reporting as of about 10:20 p.m. in Utah, according to the State Elections Office. Huntsman's opponent Nolan Karras conceded the election.

Utah, the eighth-fastest-growing U.S. state by population, has elected Republican governors for the past twenty years, and two-thirds of its voters backed President Bush in the election four years ago. Huntsman and Matheson are vying to replace Republican incumbent Olene Walker, who replaced Michael Leavitt when he left to head the Environmental Protection Agency in 2003.

Walker, Utah's first woman governor and the lieutenant governor for 11 years, was rebuffed when she sought a chance to run for the Republican place in the November election. Huntsman and Karras, the chairman of the state board that oversees Utah's universities, received the most votes at the convention last month, allowing the two to advance to the primary.

more: http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=afKDNeTO8X_g&refer=us

[David__77]

1. Does anyone have any polls or anecdotal evidence to suggest...

...that the Democrat might win this race? Can the fractures in the Utah GOP be aggravated and utilized in order to win over less stridently-rightist GOPers in Utah? The Matheson name is helpful in Utah--can we win?