Jim Matheson (D-UT 04) in 2014

[Joe Biden 2020]

Will he have a tough re-election bid as in 2012 or will he have an easier time of it with no Mitt Romney on the top of the ticket?

[You Don’t Mess With The Zohran]

Easier with 1. more experience to his district and 2. no Romney on the top of the ticket.

[bedstuy]

He definitely won't have an easy time of it, given his district. 

I think it comes down to who he's running against.  People thought that Mia Love was a good candidate last time around.  She seemed like an empty suit and a complete hack to me.  Frankly, I think Republicans who hyped her campaign just looked at her skin color and appearance, without considering whether she was a quality candidate.  So, I think he could indeed have a tougher time if the Republicans pick a better candidate.

[Maxwell]

It depends on what kind of year it is for Democrats, in my mind.

I think in 2016, he will be looking for a promotion of some sorts. Most likely the Governorship. Either that or he'll wait til 2018 for the Senate seat, because surely, groveling old man Orrin Hatch is done by then.

[Miles]

I'd say he'd be better without Obama, as is the case with Rahall.

[Zioneer]

It depends on what kind of year it is for Democrats, in my mind.

I think in 2016, he will be looking for a promotion of some sorts. Most likely the Governorship. Either that or he'll wait til 2018 for the Senate seat, because surely, groveling old man Orrin Hatch is done by then.

I agree, with the caveat that he may lose his Rep seat in 2014; Presidential years are better for him because he can get both his base to turn out, and get those voters who would otherwise be in a "throw out the bums" mood to vote for him. I think that's one of the reasons he won; Matheson has an incredible get-out-the-vote machine, but a critical part of it is the kind of voters who only appear in large numbers in presidential years.

Mia Love was a terrible candidate, but she was backed by so much money and so much anti-Democratic inclination in Utah that she should have been able to win. But she wasn't. Part of that was because Matheson restarted his old district's machine in his new district. He may not be able to replicate what he did in a non-presidential year. But I think he's sick of being the backburner Congressional Democrat. I think he'll want to trade up, hopefully to Governor. I think he'd do great as a Democratic Governor in the tradition of his father. And he'd actually help state Democrats if he did.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

He definitely won't have an easy time of it, given his district. 

I think it comes down to who he's running against.  People thought that Mia Love was a good candidate last time around.  She seemed like an empty suit and a complete hack to me.  Frankly, I think Republicans who hyped her campaign just looked at her skin color and appearance, without considering whether she was a quality candidate.  So, I think he could indeed have a tougher time if the Republicans pick a better candidate.

Of course, but is Republican-hackery really that much of a negative in UT4?

[Zioneer]

He definitely won't have an easy time of it, given his district. 

I think it comes down to who he's running against.  People thought that Mia Love was a good candidate last time around.  She seemed like an empty suit and a complete hack to me.  Frankly, I think Republicans who hyped her campaign just looked at her skin color and appearance, without considering whether she was a quality candidate.  So, I think he could indeed have a tougher time if the Republicans pick a better candidate.

Of course, but is Republican-hackery really that much of a negative in UT4?

In Mia Love's specific instance, yes. Matheson demolished her campaign by calling her out on her Tea Party hack budget proposals. Like proposing a budget that removes/heavily defunds special education (and that removes the Department of Education altogether). Or the same budget getting rid of funds for bulletproof vests for law enforcement.

Basically, Utahns like the rhetoric of the Tea Party, but they hate specific Tea Party proposals, and if you point those specifics out, they'll listen. The problem is, they don't hate those proposals enough to vote out those who suggest them.

[old timey villain]

He definitely won't have an easy time of it, given his district. 

I think it comes down to who he's running against.  People thought that Mia Love was a good candidate last time around.  She seemed like an empty suit and a complete hack to me.  Frankly, I think Republicans who hyped her campaign just looked at her skin color and appearance, without considering whether she was a quality candidate.  So, I think he could indeed have a tougher time if the Republicans pick a better candidate.

She was a great example of GOP tokenism at its worst. They treated her as little more than a cheap gimmick, but that's all they could really do because she was not qualified at all. Apparently, the town she is mayor of, Saratoga Springs, only has 18,000 people. That doesn't seem like a stepping stone to congress.

[Zioneer]

He definitely won't have an easy time of it, given his district. 

I think it comes down to who he's running against.  People thought that Mia Love was a good candidate last time around.  She seemed like an empty suit and a complete hack to me.  Frankly, I think Republicans who hyped her campaign just looked at her skin color and appearance, without considering whether she was a quality candidate.  So, I think he could indeed have a tougher time if the Republicans pick a better candidate.

She was a great example of GOP tokenism at its worst. They treated her as little more than a cheap gimmick, but that's all they could really do because she was not qualified at all. Apparently, the town she is mayor of, Saratoga Springs, only has 18,000 people. That doesn't seem like a stepping stone to congress.

It's Utah though, 18,000 is fairly well-sized. Salt Lake City itself only has 190,000 people. Plus the ones who could have had a larger base (the Salt Lake County Republicans) were all gunning for the easier prize of County Mayor (which they also lost to a candidate who ran an almost identical style of campaign as Matheson did).

But yeah, Mia Love was seen as little more than a Tea Party foot soldier which, as I mentioned earlier, tends to lose elections even in Utah, when you get into the specifics. One reason I think she won at the convention over the more established candidates is that the conservative Mormons in the state wanted people to stop calling them racist.

[old timey villain]

See that's what Repubs just don't get. They hate being called racist (which is unfair at times) so they nominate minority candidates. What they fail to realize is that it's not the candidates that earn the party a racist label, it's the policies. They think black candidates like Mia Love will change things, but they need to change the policies first and foremost.

[Zioneer]

See that's what Repubs just don't get. They hate being called racist (which is unfair at times) so they nominate minority candidates. What they fail to realize is that it's not the candidates that earn the party a racist label, it's the policies. They think black candidates like Mia Love will change things, but they need to change the policies first and foremost.

Indeed. The Utah Dems have almost every single minority in Utah sewn up, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future because nobody's fooled by the Utah GOP's attempts at diversification... The problem is that Utah just doesn't have enough minorities.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Zioneer would probably know more, but it seems to me in the 2 months I was in Utah before the election that the Republicans didn't really want Mia Love in Congress.  True, Mitt Romney made a TV ad on her behalf, but no other prominent Republican really campaigned for her.

[Zioneer]

Zioneer would probably know more, but it seems to me in the 2 months I was in Utah before the election that the Republicans didn't really want Mia Love in Congress.  True, Mitt Romney made a TV ad on her behalf, but no other prominent Republican really campaigned for her.

I think that was more that they assumed she would win without anybody else helping her. A lot of people thought that enough Utah conservatives would turn out to wipe out every single Democratic candidate in Utah; Matheson, McAdams (the successful County Mayor candidate), and all of the legislature Dems.

In fact, according to some estimates, enough conservatives were convinced they'd win the important races in Utah that many stayed home because they "knew they would win". And they probably would have, if those conservatives showed up. We would've had a Hawaii-style political situation on our hands.

I'm pretty sure the Republicans wanted Mia Love, it's just that they were too confident in the Romney Tsunami, and underestimated Matheson.

[backbone]

With 72,000 provisional ballots in this race, 98% of Matheson's provisional ballots were counted, 44% of Love's ballot were counted. Something stinks there, and of course you can't forget that the SL County Clerk is a Democrat.

Almost every elected Republican in Utah supported Mia Love, and they worked very hard for her.  Jim Matheson got very lucky in this election, and he knows it.

[hopper]

See that's what Repubs just don't get. They hate being called racist (which is unfair at times) so they nominate minority candidates. What they fail to realize is that it's not the candidates that earn the party a racist label, it's the policies. They think black candidates like Mia Love will change things, but they need to change the policies first and foremost.

What are you talking about? UT-4 is probably a majority white district. I think the GOP just thought she was the best candidate. I mean she is a mayor of town so she did have political experience. I don't think it was because of her skin color that the GOP got behind her as a candidate.

The Matheson Machine is why Matheson won.

[JacobNC]

See that's what Repubs just don't get. They hate being called racist (which is unfair at times) so they nominate minority candidates. What they fail to realize is that it's not the candidates that earn the party a racist label, it's the policies. They think black candidates like Mia Love will change things, but they need to change the policies first and foremost.

What are you talking about? UT-4 is probably a majority white district. I think the GOP just thought she was the best candidate. I mean she is a mayor of town so she did have political experience. I don't think it was because of her skin color that the GOP got behind her as a candidate.

The Matheson Machine is why Matheson won.

Okay.  But imagine if the mayor of Saratoga Springs was a white male who, politically, did all the exact same things as Mia Love.  Would he be headlining the RNC?

[bedstuy]

See that's what Repubs just don't get. They hate being called racist (which is unfair at times) so they nominate minority candidates. What they fail to realize is that it's not the candidates that earn the party a racist label, it's the policies. They think black candidates like Mia Love will change things, but they need to change the policies first and foremost.

What are you talking about? UT-4 is probably a majority white district. I think the GOP just thought she was the best candidate. I mean she is a mayor of town so she did have political experience. I don't think it was because of her skin color that the GOP got behind her as a candidate.

The Matheson Machine is why Matheson won.

Clearly they weren't trying to pander to black voters by nominating Mia Love.  They were trying to project an image of diversity and prove they're not racist.

If you watch 5 minutes of a debate between Matheson and Love, you see that Love had all these ridiculously extreme right wing positions and no ability to explain or expound on her ideas.  If you can't even articulate your positions beyond one sentence platitudes, you have no business in the US Congress.   

[Joe Biden 2020]

Zioneer would probably know more, but it seems to me in the 2 months I was in Utah before the election that the Republicans didn't really want Mia Love in Congress.  True, Mitt Romney made a TV ad on her behalf, but no other prominent Republican really campaigned for her.

I think that was more that they assumed she would win without anybody else helping her. A lot of people thought that enough Utah conservatives would turn out to wipe out every single Democratic candidate in Utah; Matheson, McAdams (the successful County Mayor candidate), and all of the legislature Dems.

In fact, according to some estimates, enough conservatives were convinced they'd win the important races in Utah that many stayed home because they "knew they would win". And they probably would have, if those conservatives showed up. We would've had a Hawaii-style political situation on our hands.

I'm pretty sure the Republicans wanted Mia Love, it's just that they were too confident in the Romney Tsunami, and underestimated Matheson.

Oklahoma is already like that.  With Dan Boren's resignation in OK-2, all 5 Oklahoma House Seats are Republican.  Combine that with 2 Republican Senators, a Republican Governor and Lt Governor and Republican Constitutional Officers, there's not much room for the Democrats.  Although, I have a sneaking suspicion things will change with Obama no longer on the top of the ticket.

[Negusa Nagast 🚀]

Zioneer would probably know more, but it seems to me in the 2 months I was in Utah before the election that the Republicans didn't really want Mia Love in Congress.  True, Mitt Romney made a TV ad on her behalf, but no other prominent Republican really campaigned for her.

I think that was more that they assumed she would win without anybody else helping her. A lot of people thought that enough Utah conservatives would turn out to wipe out every single Democratic candidate in Utah; Matheson, McAdams (the successful County Mayor candidate), and all of the legislature Dems.

In fact, according to some estimates, enough conservatives were convinced they'd win the important races in Utah that many stayed home because they "knew they would win". And they probably would have, if those conservatives showed up. We would've had a Hawaii-style political situation on our hands.

I'm pretty sure the Republicans wanted Mia Love, it's just that they were too confident in the Romney Tsunami, and underestimated Matheson.

Oklahoma is already like that.  With Dan Boren's resignation in OK-2, all 5 Oklahoma House Seats are Republican.  Combine that with 2 Republican Senators, a Republican Governor and Lt Governor and Republican Constitutional Officers, there's not much room for the Democrats.  Although, I have a sneaking suspicion things will change with Obama no longer on the top of the ticket.

The Hawaiian State Senate has 25 seats, 24 of which are held by Democrats.

[Zioneer]

Zioneer would probably know more, but it seems to me in the 2 months I was in Utah before the election that the Republicans didn't really want Mia Love in Congress.  True, Mitt Romney made a TV ad on her behalf, but no other prominent Republican really campaigned for her.

I think that was more that they assumed she would win without anybody else helping her. A lot of people thought that enough Utah conservatives would turn out to wipe out every single Democratic candidate in Utah; Matheson, McAdams (the successful County Mayor candidate), and all of the legislature Dems.

In fact, according to some estimates, enough conservatives were convinced they'd win the important races in Utah that many stayed home because they "knew they would win". And they probably would have, if those conservatives showed up. We would've had a Hawaii-style political situation on our hands.

I'm pretty sure the Republicans wanted Mia Love, it's just that they were too confident in the Romney Tsunami, and underestimated Matheson.

Oklahoma is already like that.  With Dan Boren's resignation in OK-2, all 5 Oklahoma House Seats are Republican.  Combine that with 2 Republican Senators, a Republican Governor and Lt Governor and Republican Constitutional Officers, there's not much room for the Democrats.  Although, I have a sneaking suspicion things will change with Obama no longer on the top of the ticket.

The Hawaiian State Senate has 25 seats, 24 of which are held by Democrats.

That's probably the only state legislature that tops the Utah legislature; we've got 5 Dems in the Senate and 14 in the state House of Reps, and every single one of those is in Salt Lake County.

[hopper]

See that's what Repubs just don't get. They hate being called racist (which is unfair at times) so they nominate minority candidates. What they fail to realize is that it's not the candidates that earn the party a racist label, it's the policies. They think black candidates like Mia Love will change things, but they need to change the policies first and foremost.

What are you talking about? UT-4 is probably a majority white district. I think the GOP just thought she was the best candidate. I mean she is a mayor of town so she did have political experience. I don't think it was because of her skin color that the GOP got behind her as a candidate.

The Matheson Machine is why Matheson won.

Clearly they weren't trying to pander to black voters by nominating Mia Love.  They were trying to project an image of diversity and prove they're not racist.

If you watch 5 minutes of a debate between Matheson and Love, you see that Love had all these ridiculously extreme right wing positions and no ability to explain or expound on her ideas.  If you can't even articulate your positions beyond one sentence platitudes, you have no business in the US Congress.   
 

I agree but she did win her primary though.

[Zioneer]

See that's what Repubs just don't get. They hate being called racist (which is unfair at times) so they nominate minority candidates. What they fail to realize is that it's not the candidates that earn the party a racist label, it's the policies. They think black candidates like Mia Love will change things, but they need to change the policies first and foremost.

What are you talking about? UT-4 is probably a majority white district. I think the GOP just thought she was the best candidate. I mean she is a mayor of town so she did have political experience. I don't think it was because of her skin color that the GOP got behind her as a candidate.

The Matheson Machine is why Matheson won.

Clearly they weren't trying to pander to black voters by nominating Mia Love.  They were trying to project an image of diversity and prove they're not racist.

If you watch 5 minutes of a debate between Matheson and Love, you see that Love had all these ridiculously extreme right wing positions and no ability to explain or expound on her ideas.  If you can't even articulate your positions beyond one sentence platitudes, you have no business in the US Congress.   
 

I agree but she did win her primary though.

Side note: Part of the reason why she won was because the Utah Attorney General (a supporter of the candidate who was the front-runner) called her a "novelty" and even the Utah Republicans were offended at that. Of course, the furor over that wasn't quite as dramatic as the anger over what happened at the convention regarding the 2nd district GOP candidates.

[hopper]

See that's what Repubs just don't get. They hate being called racist (which is unfair at times) so they nominate minority candidates. What they fail to realize is that it's not the candidates that earn the party a racist label, it's the policies. They think black candidates like Mia Love will change things, but they need to change the policies first and foremost.

What are you talking about? UT-4 is probably a majority white district. I think the GOP just thought she was the best candidate. I mean she is a mayor of town so she did have political experience. I don't think it was because of her skin color that the GOP got behind her as a candidate.

The Matheson Machine is why Matheson won.

Okay.  But imagine if the mayor of Saratoga Springs was a white male who, politically, did all the exact same things as Mia Love.  Would he be headlining the RNC?

What type of things are you saying that she did wrong?