Dear Fellow Utah County Democrat:
We want to thank all of you who worked diligently on the campaign that has just passed. Many people contributed in so many different ways to help bring about a positive result in this election. Thank you very much for volunteering. You made a difference.
A very special thanks goes to the candidates who sacrificed so much of their time and energy to run their respective races. Please thank them personally for doing that.
Even though we did not get any of our candidates elected this cycle, we can point to some important accomplishments:
1. We made significant inroads in winning over voters. In 2006, slightly more than 1 out of 5 voters (22%) in Utah County voted for the Democratic House candidates. In 2008, our candidates received 1 out of every 3 votes cast, a huge increase in just one election cycle. If we make that kind of gain again in 2010, some of our candidates will be on the upper end of that average and get elected. Our candidates cut into the previous Republican vote from north to south county and in between.
2. Three of the candidates got in the 40 percent range. Debbie Swenson got the closest with 45 percent of the vote. Other candidates got in the high 30s. That performance was the best of any group of candidates in anyone's memory. Moreover, our gains were across the county. Debbie is in south county, Claralyn (who got 42 percent) in Provo, and Steve (40 percent) in Orem.
3. We energized volunteers all over the county. They got to participate in real campaigns where candidates were actively competing. Many people got campaign experience they hadn't had before. Plus they got to interact with their neighbors and shape their thinking. We made quite a few friends to our cause.
4. The candidates learned many valuable lessons about campaigning. This is important for the future. The candidates can use what they've learned for their own future campaigns or impart information to others.
5. We created a party infrastructure handling functions such as research, fundraising, technology, candidate recruitment, etc. This is critical to future elections.
We can be proud of what we have accomplished and the foundation we have built for future success. Despite the odds, we made significant inroads into the Republican vote and have set the stage to make another run at them in two years. The work starts now. We hope you'll join us.
Thanks again for all your help,
Richard Davis, Chair
Larry Brown, Vice Chair
Kathy Cook, Secretary
Vaughn Cook, Treasurer
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