By Mary Clare Jalonick
Congressional Quarterly

Electoral votes: 5

Delegates: 29

Chairman: Sen. Orrin G. Hatch

Hotel: Fairfield Inn (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) (609) 642-0600

1996 Election:
Clinton – 54%
Dole – 33%
Perot – 10%

Many of those in the Utah Republican delegation began the year hoping that when they made the long trek to Philadelphia, it would be in support of their favorite son, Republican Sen. Orrin G. Hatch.

But Hatch never even came close to making it to Utah's March 10 primary. He dropped out of the presidential contest after receiving a minuscule number of votes in the Jan. 24 Iowa caucuses.

Instead, the Utahans will join the convention crowd in hailing the nomination of Texas Gov. George W. Bush, whom Hatch endorsed after leaving the race. Bush received all 29 Utah delegates with his easy victory in the winner-take-all primary.

But Hatch will still play a role at the convention. He will be Utah delegation chairman, a position held at the 1996 convention by Gov. Michael O. Leavitt (who is again a delegate again this year).

Though united behind Bush, the small group of Utah delegates will harbor some internal tensions.

Leavitt, who is seeking a third term as governor this year, is widely regarded as a conservative. But he is not conservative enough - on issues such as gun control and government spending - for Republican activists who backed a challenge to him by political newcomer Glen Davis in the June 27 primary; Leavitt won, but by a modest 62-38 percent.

Leavitt made out much better than another delegate, two-term 2nd District Republican Rep. Merrill Cook, who was trounced in his primary by another political newcomer, Internet entrepreneur, Derek Smith.

In fact, Philadelphia's First Union Center might not be big enough for both Cook and his estranged House colleague, 3rd District Rep. Christopher B. Cannon. Cannon, a delegate, endorsed and actively supported challenger Smith in the primary.

It appeared, as of early summer, that the overwhelmingly conservative delegation would have little friction on major ideological issues - that is, as long as Bush's vice presidential choice is an abortion opponent.

Gayle Ruzicka, president of the conservative Eagle Forum's Utah chapter and de facto head of the Utah delegation's more conservative faction, asked all of the state's delegates to sign a widely circulated pledge created by the Republican National Coalition for Life (a branch of the Eagle Forum).

The pledge said that the signers would support the coalition's anti-abortion platform and only support the nomination of a Bush running mate who opposes abortion rights.

Most delegates signed the pledge, said Ruzicka, though the biggest names in the delegation had qualms.

Hatch, Leavitt and Bush Utah campaign Chairman Ron Fox submitted a rewritten pledge that eliminated the demand for an anti-abortion vice presidential nominee. Sen. Robert F. Bennett declined to sign any pledge, but wrote a letter assuring the coalition that he opposes abortion.

Utah Republican Party Executive Director Scott Simpson said most delegates are not willing to compromise on the abortion issue. "Utah is a pretty conservative state, and probably the last place you would see that happen," he said.

Underscoring the conservatism of the delegation is the fact that approximately one-quarter of Utah's delegates started the campaign not as supporters of Bush but of social conservative crusader Alan Keyes. The talk show host took 21 percent of the vote in the primary.

Despite the strong support for Keyes, the year's only major-party African-American presidential candidate, there is little racial diversity in the delegation from a state in which 95 percent of the population is white. One alternate delegate, James Evans, is African-American.

UTAH NOTABLES: Gov. Michael O. Leavitt; Sens. Orrin G. Hatch (the delegation chairman) and Robert F. Bennett; Reps. Merrill Cook and Christopher B. Cannon; Utah Eagle Forum President Gayle Ruzicka.