Our first batch of 2014 race ratings are out. Caucus attendance down from 2012, but still higher than average. Herbert signs hemp extract bill.
Countdown:
- 32 days until the Utah State Republican and Democratic conventions
- 92 days until Utah’s 2014 primary elections
- 225 days to the 2014 midterm elections
- 308 days to the start of the 2015 Utah Legislature
- 588 days to the 2015 elections
- 653 days until the 2016 Iowa Caucuses
- 959 days to the 2016 presidential election
Today’s Utah political news highlights:
- Here’s how we see the 2014 elections shaping up:
- Attendance at Utah’s caucus meetings was down from 2012’s record numbers, but still higher than usual [Tribune].
- National Democrats are excited about Utah’s pilot program allowing election day voter registration [Tribune].
- Gov. Gary Herbert signs a bill allowing the use of a cannabis extract to treat seizures [Tribune].
- Sen. Orrin Hatch pens an op-ed slamming the Affordable Care Act on the fourth anniversary of its passing [Deseret News].
- The number of women who are retiring from the Utah Legislature this year could lead to a larger gender-gap on the Hill [Tribune].
- The 2014 Utah Legislature by the numbers [Tribune].
- Former Democratic Attorney General Paul Van Dam is challenging for a seat on the Washington County Commission [Southern Utah Independent].
- Utah added more than 32,000 jobs last month [Tribune].
- Drought conditions in southern Utah are worsening [Standard-Examiner].
On this day in history:
- 1765 – Britain enacted the Quartering Act, requiring American colonists to provide housing for British soldiers.
- 1883 – Long-distance telephone service between Chicago and New York City was established.
- 1955 – “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” by Tennessee Williams opened on Broadway.
- 1989 – The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground in Alaska’s Prince William Sound.
- 1999 – NATO launched airstrikes against Yugoslavia.
- 2005 – The U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal from the parents of Terry Schiavo to have a feeding tube reinserted into the severely brain-damaged woman.
- 2012 – Former Vice President Dick Cheney underwent a heart transplant.
