Romney & Utah Republicans – do they care about Utah?

If you have been following the latest news here in Utah, you have probably heard about the Romney campaign asking Utah to move the Republican Primary to an earlier date. The reasoning behind this, according to the Romney campaign, is moving the primary to an earlier date will make Utah a substantial factor in the Republicans’ choice of nominee. Currently, Lt. Governor Bell, a Romney supporter, seems to support moving the primary because he “would love to see Utah matter and not be a fly-over state and have a real impact on the election” (Salt Lake Tribune).

Why does the Romney campaign want the primary earlier?

It would be a political win for Romney to beat out Huntsman in Utah, where both men are influential figures. If the Romney campaign has its way and can force Utah into an early primary before the Huntsman campaign can gain traction, odds are he will win the state. In 2008, Romney gained nearly 90% of the primary vote and all 36 delegate votes (New York Times). In addition to the delegates, Romney also netted over $5 million from Utah, accounting for about 11% of his total amount raised (OpenSecrets). For Romney to succeed on a national level, he needs to shore up the Utah voters and in turn, shore up Utah money.

What does this means to the average Utahan?

If the Republican presidential primary were to be moved to an earlier date, it would cost the state of Utah anywhere from $2.5 to $3 million. Of Utah’s 2.8 million voters, only 300,000 voted in the 2008 primary elections. This would mean that the state would pour millions of dollars into moving the primary date at the request of the Romney campaign, even though history shows that only 10% of the state’s electorate would turn out to vote.

Does Romney care about Utahans?

I am curious to his answer because, to me, it seems all Romney cares about is campaign money and delegate votes. Lt Governor Bell and other Utah Republicans who support moving the presidential primary date seem to care only about their 15 minutes of fame in the national news.

It is absurd that any elected Republican official would support wasting Utah tax dollars to help the Romney campaign. It becomes even more absurd with the news that Utah now ranks 26th for money public schools receive per $1000 of personal income (Salt Lake Tribune).

Before we spend millions for Romney let us not forget that the “best managed state in the union” is looking at a $390 million shortfall in 2012 (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities).