Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT), a Blue Dog who was forced into a primary as a result of his vote against the health care bill, has easily survived the challenge from educator Claudia Wright.
With 31% of precincts reporting, Matheson leads Wright by 68%-32%. At the state Democratic convention in May, Matheson received 55% of the delegate vote against Wright’s 45%, short of the 60% threshold needed to be nominated without any primary at all in Utah.
But in the end, Matheson’s incumbency — and far superior war chest — easily put him over the top against his more liberal challenger. It should also be noted that the district voted 58%-40% for John McCain in 2008, and 66%-31% for George W. Bush in 2004. So had Matheson lost his nomination to a liberal challenger, the district would have stood a strong chance of going to the Republicans.
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
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