Good op-ed on the Western Primary Presidential Politics

(Provo, UT) Daily Herald hits the high points:

Currently, Western states aren't highly regarded in the presidential campaigns. By definition, a small state has a small number of Electoral College votes, and most of them are solidly Republican. A GOP candidate isn't going to waste time and money campaigning in states already in his camp, and Democrats won't go where they're clearly not welcome.

Not only do candidates avoid Western issues as a result, the West can actually become a pawn in a larger game. An incumbent can do things that rile up the West while winning support elsewhere -- President Clinton's creation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and President Bush's continued push to ship nuclear waste to Nevada are good examples.

But if the states between the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada joined forces, politicians may take the region more seriously. The combined power of Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona and Idaho creates a bloc of 44 Electoral College votes. While not as juicy a prize as the Super Tuesday primaries, which represent 126 electoral votes, it is a sizable bloc that can't be ignored.

If National Democrats have to face Western issues, just like they had to start facing Southern issues after 1988, the party will change as a result.

Emmett O'Connell | September 19, 2005 | Comment on This Post (1 so far) Permalink: Good op-ed on the Western Primary Presidential Politics

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