Utah Data Points summarizes the findings where students polled Utah residents at random about the presidential. U.S. Senate and Utah gubernatorial races.
Presidential race: Romney 74%, Obama 21%
Aside from Utah's history of voting for Republican presidents, Romney's status as the first LDS person to receive a major party's nomination for the presidency has likely bolstered enthusiasm for his candidacy among Utah voters. Additionally, much of this poll was administered shortly after the first Presidential Debate where Romney's strong performance built support for his candidacy.
Senate: Orrin Hatch 67.3%, Scott Howell 23.7%
There are several explanations for why Hatch's poll numbers lag behind those of other Republicans in the state. In the primary election, Hatch's challenger Dan Liljenquist provided considerable competition and could have weakened Hatch's favorability among Republicans. Additionally, Hatch's percentage in this poll is within 5 points of his actual percentages in his last two elections, including the 2000 election where Hatch won 66% of the vote against Scott Howell.
Governor: Gary Herbert 76%, Peter Cooke 17.3%While Herbert's strength against Cooke may have been expected, Herbert's running on par with Romney comes as something of a surprise (though the difference between the candidates is well within the poll's margin of error).
Finally, it is worth noting that Romney's recent national successes may influence other races within the state, with Utah Republicans benefitting from Romney's coattails. This effect may be boosting Herbert and, to some extent Hatch, in their reelection efforts.
The results have a small sample size and a margin of error of +/-7.6%.
Post a Comment