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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Some political observers are wondering whether a Mormon church statement urging members to vote in Tuesday's primary may have boosted turnout and helped five-term incumbent Republican Rep. Chris Cannon turn back challenger John Jacob.
"Between the president and Mrs. Bush's endorsement (of Cannon) and the church's statement from the pulpit -- those were the two biggest factors that helped Cannon in his re-election," said Ron Fox, who helped run Bush's Utah campaign in 2000 and 2004.
"I think the church's desires were to get people to the polls and vote and I think, as a byproduct, it assisted Cannon in his re-election," he told The Salt Lake Tribune.
The turnout in the 3rd District primary was higher than in the 2004 primary.
The race had focused on immigration issues, with businessman Jacob accusing Cannon of supporting President Bush's policies, while Jacob opposed any guest-worker or amnesty programs.
Getting voters to the polls had been considered vital to Cannon's chances to keep his seat.
"Turnout usually favors an incumbent in these kinds of situations because when you expand the election pool you are including voters who are going to take into consideration other factors beside the immigration issue," said Kelly Patterson, a political science professor at Brigham Young University, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Quin Monson, another BYU professor, downplayed the significance of the church letter, which he said contained fairly "standard language." However, it apparently motivated some people.
"A friend called to tell me that she voted specifically because she heard the letter on Sunday," Monson said.
Church spokesman Dale Bills said that to his knowledge, it was the first time church leaders have urged its members to vote in a primary election.
Bills said that church leaders "regularly teach that church members should make their voices heard as individual citizens of their respective nations by exercising their right to vote."
The church leaders said that they were lending their voice at the request of Joe Cannon, chairman of the Utah Republican Party and Chris Cannon's brother, and the Democratic chairman, Wayne Holland.
Todd Taylor, executive director of the Utah Democratic Party, said Joe Cannon approached Holland and suggested they make the request to the church, and the Democrats agreed.
"It's hard to quantify the impact" of the church statement, said Jeff Hartley, executive director of the Utah Republican Party.
"Based on the Utah County turnout, which was higher than anyone expected, I believe the president had a significant impact on Republican voters and I believe that the church reminding people from the pulpit had a significant impact on the Republican voters, and I hope our efforts as a party had a significant impact," he said.
Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
