Governors rethink regional primary

SALT LAKE CITY – Hoping to have a greater say in selecting a president, Western governors are discussing the idea of bringing back a regional presidential primary.

The West has not been prime stumping ground for presidential candidates, who focus largely on Iowa, New Hampshire and the other states with active roles in narrowing the field before the party conventions.

Voters in the West, with specific concerns to the area, tend to feel left out of the process.

“The West has less political influence than it should,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, the former governor of Utah.

Leavitt helped organize a western states primary in 2000, but it received low voter turnout. There wasn’t a western primary last year, but Leavitt thinks it could work in 2008 if it is done properly.

“It’s an idea that I’m pleased to have been involved in originating, and I’m also pleased that others are picking it up,” Leavitt said Friday in a telephone interview. “It was a good idea then and it’s a good idea now.”

The idea has been revived, and Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman has been speaking with colleagues in New Mexico, Wyoming and Idaho. He also plans to talk with Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn. States in the region are low on the population scale, but combining them could make for a primary that carries some political clout.

“They too would like our states to be better represented in terms of candidates coming through and hearing our unique Western issues,” Huntsman said.

Huntsman suggested finding a date that is before Super Tuesday but does not interfere with the kickoff events of Iowa and New Hampshire.

The Democratic National Committee is already considering proposals to adjust its party primary calendar. A special commission appointed by the national party heard several suggestions last month at a meeting in Chicago.

Brian Kuehl, a spokesman for the group Democrats for the West, said ideally a Western primary would include the Rocky Mountain states of Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona. But if the logistics for all eight states can’t be worked out, even a smaller regional primary would be progress, he said.

“I think we can make great gains by 2008, and I think we’ll keep working on it after that,” said Kuehl, who pitched the regional proposal at the Chicago meeting.

It isn’t just the Democrats who are pushing the idea. Huntsman is a staunch Republican who held posts in both Bush administrations. He said getting candidates into the region would help bring concerns of Western voters – regardless of party affiliation – to the forefront of the campaign.

“It would allow those potential candidates to pay more attention to the West and these Western issues, which are in fact key and important issues,” said Brian Whitlock, spokesman for Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne.

Idaho could run into a problem because the date of the state primary is already written into law as the fourth Tuesday in May. The Legislature could rewrite the law if needed to join a regional primary, one of many possible logistical steps that may be needed to bring the idea together.

But both sides seem to think it may be worth it.

Adding a legitimate presidential primary, which would lead to candidates stumping in the region, could increase interest and voter turnout for both parties.

“All Democrats feel that the West represents great growth opportunities for our party,” said Josh Earnest, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee.

The 2000 Western regional primary combined 10 states in March and drew just 10 percent of voters. Leavitt, a Republican, said one problem was Democrats already had a frontrunner in then-Vice President Al Gore, leaving little reason for voters to try to weigh in on a race that was essentially over.

But in 2008 as President Bush’s second term winds down, both parties could have wide open races.

“The discussion has to include both party leaders and legislative leaders. It can’t appear ever that it’s being done for the benefit of one candidate,” Leavitt said. “There are more complexities than you could ever imagine.”