Gov. Gary Herbert is headed to Canada this week. It’s fairly certain that he would not be headed to the Great White North with a little more than 50 days left in the 2016 election if he didn’t have a colossal 41-point lead over Democrat Mike Weinholtz in the polls.
It’s not exactly a vacation as Herbert is leading a group of Utah businessmen to Canada to forge trade relations with companies north of the border. Heading up trade missions is something Herbert does from time to time to help foster economic development in the state. But, when was the last time a sitting governor left the country for a week with under two months to go until election day? It’s almost unheard of.
Weinholtz is struggling mightily to poll above the mid-20’s against Herbert:
- The Utah Debate Commission survey from August gave Herbert a 65-17% lead.
- Public Policy Polling had Herbert leading Weinholtz 57-26%.
- The latest UtahPolicy.com survey from July had Herbert up by 41-points at 64-23%.
Shortly after the UtahPolicy.com poll showed Herbert with an expansive lead, Weinholtz shook up his campaign staff, firing two top staffers.
Utah Democrats have lost nine gubernatorial elections in a row, dating back to 1984. Unless something catastrophic happens this year, Herbert is well poised to pull off the ten-peat.
