In this election year, Utahns are more confident that the state is heading in the right direction than they were two years ago. However, they are still not as confident as they were in the 2004 and 2008 elections. Their concerns about issues like jobs and the economy, public education, and healthcare remain strong. Some issues that were important in the 2010 election, such as ethics of elected officials, states’ rights vs. the federal government, and federal lands in Utah have diminished, and Utahns are now more concerned with energy issues, higher education, partisan politics, and poverty.
As the introduction to the 2012 Utah Priorities Project, this report provides a summary of the findings of a statewide Dan Jones & Associates survey assessing which issues are most important this year and how voters feel about Utah’s economy, society, and politics. The goal of this survey is to determine the most important public policy issues for voters, their level of concern about each issue, and to provide details about why voters care about each issue. The survey was not designed to gather voters’ prescriptions for solving these problems, but rather to provide a solid list of priority issues for candidates and voters to focus on through this election cycle. Throughout this election year, Utah Foundation will invite candidates to offer their prescriptions on these issues so that voters can determine who has the best plan for solving these problems.
Also see the other report components below.
About the Utah Priorities Project
During this important election year, Utah Foundation is working to focus political dialogue on the issues that matter most to Utah voters. This is a project Utah Foundation undertakes during each gubernatorial election year. It begins with a survey of voters to rank the major issues and set the agenda for Utah Foundation’s research and other activities this year. Through outreach to many media outlets and a partnership with the Hinckley Institute of Politics, this project will also feature issue forums, candidate debates, candidate profiles, and other coverage of these issues.
Read this research report (our summary of the survey)
Other components:
- Read the full survey report from Dan Jones & Associates
- Read a longitudinal analysis of survey results since 2004
- See the detailed crosstabs (for serious political junkies!)