By Bret Clark
Now that all the candidates for state offices are official, state political parties will each use different strategies to get their candidates elected.
The Republicans in Utah County plan to simply express to the people their values, said Utah County GOP chairman Stan Lockhart.
“We will convey to the people of this county the values we hold. They are what the people of Utah County want,” Lockhart said.
Chair of Utah County Democrats Nancy Woodside said they will canvas the area encouraging everyone to vote.
The Independent American Party will organize at the precinct level hoping to gain more members in each precinct, said according to Will Christensen, chairman of the party.
Lockhart said the Republican Party platform for Utah County has had huge support for the last 25 years. He has little fear that this will change.
Lockhart said time has shown that the people in Utah County hold Republican values.
Because of this, Lockhart said he is not very concerned about the elections in November.
Republican David Cox, running for the District 56 Utah House seat, said he feared losing in the primary more than the general election because Utah County has always supported Republicans.
Because of Republican predominance in Utah County, Democrats have a much different approach to the November elections.
Woodside said the Democrats in Utah County will focus on two things. First, they will get out and encourage people to vote. Second they will talk about their platform.
She said their platform has one major priority: education. “Education has to become a priority,” Woodside said.
Woodside said she watched the recent Republican primaries closely hoping that more liberal candidates would win.
She said since Utah County has so many Republicans it comes down to a question between “what is worse for the state and what is worser.”
Utah Independent American Party Chair Will Christensen said his party would organize at the precinct level.
Christensen said he hopes to have four activists in each of the more than 2,000 precincts in Utah.
He says each of these activists will be able to bring about 55 Independent American votes by holding public meetings, going door to door and collecting signatures for petitions.
Christensen said this strategy for helping his candidates get votes will be effective because it focuses on being close to the American people.
In the end, Christensen hopes to positively effect the issues discussed in the races and build stronger support for his party.
