Bishop returning to Congress
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By JEFF DEMOSS
Standard-Examiner staff
jdemoss@standard.net
Rep. Rob Bishop did his part to keep Utah solidly in the Republican camp on an Election Day that turned a host of red seats in Congress to blue.
The incumbent, Bishop cruised to victory over Democratic challenger Morgan Bowen in his bid for a fourth two-year term representing Utah Congressional District 1 in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Bishop, 57, also defeated Libertarian candidate Joseph Buchman and Kirk Pearson, of the Constitution Party.
Looking at past races, Bishop's victory came as no surprise in the largely conservative district.
The former teacher at Box Elder and Ben Lomond high schools had received more than 60 percent of the vote in each of his campaigns, and Tuesday's result was no different.
Bishop said he will validate the victory by continuing his efforts to diminish federal authority and increase local authority in government.
"I believe conservative principles empower people and make government more efficient," he said.
"Implicit in that is moving power from Washington back to state and local government."
Bowen, 43, was seeking an elected office for the first time.
He said throughout his campaign that his lack of experience in Washington was a good reason to put him there, saying the current system of lobbyists working with legislators amounts to "legalized bribery."
He said the decision to run for office in the future is "something we'll have to look at down the line."
"It's been a great experience getting to know the people of this district, and I'm grateful for the opportunity. My congratulations to Rob Bishop on his fourth term."
The LDS seminary teacher from Hyde Park, just north of Logan, heavily played up his opposition to allowing EnergySolutions Inc. to dump foreign radioactive waste at its landfill in Tooele County.
Bowen has repeatedly criticized Bishop for accepting $28,000 in campaign donations from EnergySolutions officials, then voting against a federal measure that would ban the importation of foreign waste.
Bishop has remained neutral on the EnergySolutions issue. He maintains that individual states, not the federal government, should be allowed to decide whether to accept the waste.
Bishop says his presence on the House Armed Services Committee will help ensure the future of Hill Air Force Base.
He's also the ranking Republican on the Committee on Natural Resources, which deals with public lands.
His victory came on a night when Republicans had little to celebrate at the national level.
The party conceded several seats in both the House and Senate, but Bishop said that would not change his approach to the job.
"It's hard to analyze right now what it all means, but I don't expect a whole lot of difference back in Washington," he said.
"It's going to be a different dynamic, but even with the Democrats controlling both houses and the presidency, the executive and legislative branches will have their differences.
"We will always have checks and balances."
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To Confused: Congressional districts often cross county lines and the Salt Lake County Clerk has the responsibility to count the returns in the 1st district portion of Salt Lake County and forward them to the total for the district. You are looking at just the SL County portion of the total.
Not that confusing really...
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