Obama takes Utah
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By PAUL FOY
The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY -- Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, whose Mormon faith played a big role in his primary victory in Utah, won 36 delegates in a winner-take-all sweep, while Barack Obama defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic primary.
Romney had been expected to win Utah, where more than 60 percent of residents are also members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Obama, an Illinois senator, held a commanding lead with the state's Democratic primary voters. Utah Democrats split their delegates by the popular vote.
The Associated Press made its call based on surveys of voters as they left the polls.
Romney is former governor of Massachusetts and a favorite adopted son in Utah. He was chief of the Salt Lake Olympics in 2002 and owns a vacation home at Park City's Deer Valley resort.
With more than three-quarters of Utah precincts reporting, Romney had nearly 89 percent of the vote to Arizona Sen. John McCain's almost 6 percent.
About 90 percent of Republicans at Utah polls said they were Mormon and that Romney shared their values.
"Honestly, yes, I'm voting for him because he's LDS," said Laroy Whitmore, a 40-year-old construction worker from the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy.
"But I was impressed with the Olympics. I thought it was dead, but he came in and fixed it," Whitmore added. "Clearly, he has the background and experience to lead our country."
Romney also found favor with GOP voters who said the economy and immigration were their main concerns, according to exit polls.
"It's always great when the people who know you best support you," said Josh Romney, 32, one of the candidate's five sons, who lives in Salt Lake City and works for a real-estate development firm.
On the Democratic side, Mormon voters also favored Obama, who is a member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Utah Catholics were more likely to vote for Clinton.
Obama and Clinton were trading primary victories across the country in a competitive race that pleased about 100 of Obama's supporters gathered at a sports bar in Salt Lake City.
"We're thrilled every time we see a new number," said Misty Fowler, a 30-year-old software developer, who never dreamed a year ago that Obama would have advanced so far.
"I think he will continue to inspire people to make the changes we need," she said.
Overall, Obama had an edge with male voters in Utah, while women appeared evenly divided between him and Clinton, a New York senator.
With more than three-quarters of Utah precincts reporting, Obama had nearly 56 percent of the Democratic primary vote to Clinton's 40 percent. Voters who described themselves as independents were more than twice as likely to vote for Obama, the survey found.
People with an unfavorable opinion of former President Bill Clinton, who actively campaigned for his wife, were four times as likely to vote for Obama.
"There's something going on with Obama," said Utah Democratic Party spokesman Bill Keshlear, describing Obama's appeal.
"It has to do with his youth, his message of hope and enthusiasm. Part of it is generational. A lot of people his age and younger who grew up with hip-hop culture are comfortable with an African-American as president," he said.
Because of Romney's overwhelming support among Utah Republicans and their winner-take-all primary, Arizona Sen. McCain's campaign and that of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee have been all but absent in Utah.
Romney, by contrast, has made several fundraising appearances and ran television commercials here. He raised $5.2 million last year for his presidential campaign in Utah, making it his second-highest- yielding state after California, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Lines in Utah County
In light of high voter turnout, Utah County officials are regretting a decision to reduce the county's polling locations by nearly half for Tuesday's primary elections.
The county consolidated its 107 polling locations into 60 as a cost-saving measure, said County Clerk Bryan E. Thompson. He said the moved saved the county about $1,000 per location, but it was still a mistake given the number of voters showing up at polls.
"That was misjudgment on our part," Thompson said.
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60% mormons and of a mormon wins! WOW WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT! god i hate this state