Pete Ashdown’s Journal

On March 30th, 2005, I announced my candidacy for U.S. Senate. The past year has flown by and been an incredible experience. I have put more than 10,000 miles on my car and seen corners of Utah that I never would have discovered otherwise. I have met Utahns of all political stripes who have put their lives into building this state. From them, I have crafted a campaign that is robust, focused, and by the people. Many others across America have contributed time and financial support into helping this campaign succeed. It is both exciting and humbling to be in the center.

In the past quarter, we raised over $10,000. Every dollar has been stretched in this campaign. While other incumbents have raised much more, we have reached more people and received more press on less. With three days left in this quarter, I am sending an appeal for you to donate whatever you can. With our current goal of $100,000, if everyone on our mailing list was to donate $75, we would make that easily.

Donate Here

If you can not afford to donate now, there are many other opportunities to help. Many counties are having their Democratic county conventions in April. I am going to attend as many as physically possible. I need your help to sign up more supporters, represent me in your neighborhoods, and activating your friends and neighbors to do the same. Our yard signs have flown out the doors of the office, but if you need some either drop us a note with your address or drop by.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT! We can win this race together!

Many hands made short work yesterday and the “Campaign Caravan” is looking fantastic. We got about half of the design completed before the weather turned bad on us. I would post some pictures, but I want to wait until its completely done.

Every time Robin and I look at the motorhome now we can’t keep from grinning. It is not only eye-catching, but a symbol of support and people powered politics. Cost of the effort? About $220 in materials, two buckets of bagels, one gallon of coffee, and one gallon of hot-chocolate.

Many thanks to all who helped on Saturday. I was humbled not only by the size of the crowd but the energy everyone had for the task. In addition to the painting, we staked 75 signs in a short period of time. Please come and get them! We have 1,000 in this run.

Today I campaigned at the Hurricane Valley Rotary. Tomorrow, I’ll be visiting the Cedar City Rotary. This evening, I took a trip up to Zion National Park.

Zion holds a special place in my heart. It was a frequent destination for my family when I was young. The last time I was here was two years ago when my younger sister got married near the park. This time, it was dusted with an unusual March snow that was utterly breath-taking and mostly devoid of other people. I walked the trail to the “Three Patriarchs”, gazed at the “Great White Throne” and watched an otherwise dry waterfall at the “Temple of Sinewava”. I have been fortunate to have travelled to many destinations all over the world, but Zion remains at the top of my list.

Some people have asked me why I should bother to run as a Democrat in Utah. Why not move to a state that presents better opportunities for Democrats? Like say, Pennsylvania?

If home is where your heart is, my heart is in Utah. This state is an enigma to outsiders and a well-kept secret to insiders. As I come up to a year of campaigning throughout this state, I have had many days like today that confirm my deep love for Utah. This is my home.

Here is another round of interviews for you to read. Chris Stowe, a Democrat at BYU has part one of a two-part interview. David Troels Garby, a Dane with an interest in American politics asks about the campaign and my Danish heritage. Last, Jonathan Singer of MyDD.com conducts a very issue oriented Q&A.