SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Democrat Jim Matheson held on to his seat in Utah's 2nd Congressional District Tuesday with a narrow victory over Republican challenger John Swallow.
Matheson, the son of former Utah Gov. Scott Matheson, won 50 percent of the vote with 97 percent of the precincts counted in the district, the only one of Utah's three House districts represented by a Democrat.
The district had gone for George W. Bush in the last presidential election, and the 50,000-square-mile district's boundaries were redrawn last year, raising the Republican Party's collective hope that Matheson could be knocked off.
The district includes part of Salt Lake City, but also includes portions of 15 rural counties and was seen by political analysts as up for grabs in the clash over control of Congress. The final Deseret News poll of the race had Matheson with a 1-percentage point lead.
Swallow, a GOP whip in the state Legislature, had vowed to be a loyal supporter of President Bush and drew support from the White House, including a whirlwind visit by Vice President Dick Cheney over the weekend.
