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Show Nation, State Go Republican Utah voted herself a new senator, sen-ator, a new congressman, nearly completely new legislature, new supreme court justice, and Salt Lake county sent in a whole new set of officers in the most spectacular off - year election shakeup in the history of the state last Tuesday. Arthur V. Watkins of Orem ousted Abe Murdock for the six-year six-year senate term and William A. Dawson of Layton tossed out J. Will Robinson of Provo for the second district congress seat as the big upsets in the general Republican holiday. At press time the result of the first congressional con-gressional district was still in some doubt, with the Democratic Democrat-ic incumbent, Walter Granger of Cedar. City, leading his Republican Repub-lican foe, David J. Wilson of Ogden, by 159 votes on unofficial returns, and with at least one district still unreported. The official of-ficial canvass will not be completed com-pleted until next week, and with such a small margin in a total of .close to 90,000 votes anything can still happen. Salt Lake county, of course, was the deciding factor in the big upset. Impartial observers had figured the Democrats had a cinch in this area, even though the trend nationally and elsewhere else-where throughout the state was generally Republican. County GOP Chairman Joe Ottenheim-er Ottenheim-er (one of our Bulletin subscribers, sub-scribers, incidentally) did himself him-self a marvelous job of organizing organ-izing and driving through to a glorious victory. In this county only two Democrats made the grade, Alvin Keddington, county clerk, and George Beckstead, chief deputy, running for sheriff. sher-iff. The third district judgeship also went to the Democratic candidate, Joseph G. Jeppson. The Republicans were the first to admit that the victory, nationally and locally, too, was largely the result of a protest vote a vote against, rather than a vote for, anything or anybody. The people just simply decided they had "had enough" of things as they were. It was heartening hearten-ing to see the democratic system sys-tem in action again to see the people express their will and give their mandate. Not the least satisfying aspect of the vote to many observers was the unmistakable repudiation of the radical element the fellow travelers and the PACers. In complete control of congress con-gress and most state administrations, administra-tions, the Republicans have a difficult job ahead of them, and it behooves them to approach their task with a deep sense of responsibility and humility. Another An-other election will roll around in two years, and their performance perform-ance during the next two years will largely determine how they fare at that time. Our newly elected county officers of-ficers include Robert L. Cran-mer, Cran-mer, a young World War II veteran, vet-eran, for four year commissioner, commission-er, and B. A. (Bern). Rasmus-sen Rasmus-sen for two year commissioner; Edward M. Morrissey, county attorney; Sid Lambourne, treasurer treas-urer John Walker, assessor; Albert Al-bert Escandon, auditor; George Cassity, surveyor; M r s. Hazel Taggart Chase, recorder. New state senators, all Republicans, Repub-licans, are Rue L. Clegg, Elias L. Day, and Newell Knight. State representatives from the southeast south-east area include Wendell Cot-trell, Cot-trell, Dale Foote and Merrill Davis. |