Election dismay strikes most Republican corner of US

[T_i_B]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/johnmccain/3362430/Election-dismay-strikes-most-Republican-corner-of-US.html

Founded by Mormon settlers in 1870, the small farming community of Randolph in northeastern Utah boasts the distinction of having voted more enthusiastically for George W Bush in 2004 than anywhere else in America.

Some 96 per cent of Randolph's votes went for Mr Bush four years ago, impressive even by the standards of a state that rewarded him 72 per cent support, his best result. Just 17 voters from Randolph and its environs backed Democrat John Kerry. So the prospect of a Barack Obama presidency is viewed with predictable dismay by the ranchers who arrive in the pre-dawn dark or the morning ritual of coffee and small talk at Sinclair's, a petrol station-cum-diner in Randolph.

There were further nods and grunts of assent when Mr Wilson rolled out a litany of dire predictions for life under a Democrat administration. "If Obama pulls all our troops out from Iraq, those terrorists are all going to head over here pretty quickly," he said. "And another thing I hear is that a lot more of our tax money will be going to Africa if he gets in. His father's from there, you know."

Despite the lack of enthusiasm for change, affection for the Republican party appeared to have dwindled dramatically too. Just four years after Mr Bush's chief guru Karl Rove appeared to have laid the foundations for a long-term Republican majority, the party is in disarray, something not lost on its supporters in Randolph. "This election is a choice between the lesser of two evils," said Kelly Thomson, owner of an auto repair business. "And the lesser of two evils is John McCain. People around here are going to vote Republican but I don't detect much excitement at the prospect."