With less than three weeks to go, whee do you think the race between Mia Love and Doug Owens stands?
Our political insiders are split, with most Republicans thinking Love will win easily, while our Democratic insiders think Owens still stands a chance to pull off the upset.
Selected anonymous comments:
"Love has substance problems. She's not as qualified as Owens and it's starting to show. If elected she will need a strong and experienced senior staff."
"Doug's '6th generation' mantra is off-putting and worn out. Has his team even noticed the demographic shift of new Utahn's? If Doug really believes being a multi a generational Utahn that holds dear his Utahn values is more than a talking point, why on earth did he choose to shun a Utah higher education in favor of the East coast Ivy League? Related: witnessing a child of privelege claim penury, 'my mother was a school teacher and my father was a public servant,' is a straight-up slap in the face on a scale that only Hillary can appreciate."
"It's clear that Love is projecting confidence, attitude, and conviction. Not that I actually agree with her – I think she's often wrong – but she's polished her speaking and debate skills well and will now win over more voters. Owens is now appearing less articulate than her, and that projects less confidence and charisma. She's clinching it on the home stretch."
"Love might underperform in the heavily Republican district due to her polarizinng Tea Party connections but this is Utah. I don't think we will see another Democrat in the congressional delegation until one of the Republicans is involved in a major scandal or Matheson runs again which might not be likely."
"Anything can happen but I don't see much movement on the ground from the Owens campaign. In Utah, the only way Democrats win tough races is by an aggressive, well-orchestrated ground game. There is no evidence that his team has launched such an effort."
"Owens has not been successful enough in becoming known among the horde of uninformed voters who barely pay attention and who go to the polls and flip the lever for their party affiliation. It took Love two races to get that recognition, and she's a stand out candidate. Owens would have to get the overwhelming majority of the growing independent class of voters, and he's not making fast enough headway. Love will win by 10 points, maybe more."
"I really want Owens to win. However, I think time will expire. It's not 'too little, too late.' Rather it's 'Just the right amount, about 2 weeks too late'."
"The race is still Love's to lose. All this talk about Owens closing the gap is hype and wishful thinking."
"Owens will need a big break, and Love keeps herself too surrounded by handlers to allow one."
"This may be wishful thinking, but I believe that Love's dependence on out-of-state support and closeness to Tea Party extremism will hurt her performance. Owens started slowly, but is getting stronger daily. This one will be very interesting to watch."
