As it always is in Utah, 2012 was a terrible year for the Utah Democrats. This time, all but 5 State Senate and 14 State House seats went to the Republicans, with nearly every other elected office in state or county races falling into GOP hands. Outside of Salt Lake County, no Democrat holds any significant elected office. Yet we haven’t lost everything. Congressman Jim Matheson, our only Democratic Representative in the state, pulled off a squeaker of a win; less than 1%. And we even managed a surprising winning margin of 9% with State Senator Ben McAdams in the Salt Lake County Mayoral race.
But I believe we shouldn’t sit back and accept that this is all we can hope for. I think that we can expand beyond our tiny victories. I think that if we take advantage of the changing demographics in Utah, and really put up a fight with skilled candidates, we can surprise the world of politics.
So let’s take a look at the voting trends and demographics of various areas to see where we can win (and the one or two areas we’re in trouble), starting with legislative districts. All information in this diary is derived from the state elections results and each legislator's official demographics analysis of their district.