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BY Randall Jeppesen and John DaleyIt's election eve, and both major political parties are pulling out all the stops with a last-minute push on radio, television and Internet -- and a lot of it is ruffling political feathers.
Mitt Romney, the Utah GOP's favorite son, appears in Democratic newspaper ads and phone calls using comments he made six years ago as Massachusetts' governor, warning of the dangers of "partisanship and a one-party state."
"I'm not convinced that a state would be better off with all Republicans. As a matter of fact, I've been in a state like that for three years. It's not a good thing," Romney says in one of the phone messages.
That phone message also quotes Romney as saying, "I lived in a place that had a one party-state. It was primarily Republican. I thought 'Won't that be nice?' The answer was ‘no.'"
Today, the Utah Republican Party issued a press release quoting Romney saying he supports Utah's Republican ticket. "I strongly believe in a two-party system, but you don't get there with inferior candidates who have bad positions," Romney says.
"This is the Democratic Party that talks about ethics reform, and this behavior is simply unethical," said Salt Lake County Republican Party chair James Evans.
Utah Democratic Party chair Wayne Holland said, "What we think it does is make voters think thoughtfully about voting for the person rather than the party."Meanwhile, a pair of GOP state senators have produced a 5 minute Internet ad titled "October Surprise." It defends Draper lawmaker Greg Hughes, who was hit a month before the election with allegations of unethical behavior. It also links his opponent to the allegations being made public; something she denies.
Hughes was cleared but rebuked by fellow lawmakers for conduct "unbecoming" a legislator.
The Democrats also issued a video response to "October Surprise." To see their response, click the related link to the right of the story.
You can also the Republican response to the use of Mitt Romney's comments in Democratic ads by clicking the corresponding story index item.
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
E-mail: jdaley@ksl.com
