The Utah Second District had all the makings of an epic incumbent/challenger struggle. Because the Utah State legislature redrew the boundaries of the district to favor Republicans, political pundits and observers anticipated a hardfought campaign with remarkable participation from outside groups and political parties. Democratic incumbent Jim Matheson barely won re-election by less than 1% over Republican John Swallow. Yet, despite the closeness of the race, the political parties and other outside interests virtually ignored the campaign until the very end. Their reasons for ignoring the campaign demonstrate the limitations parties and interest groups face when deciding when and where to commit resources. This chapter chronicles some of the strategic miscalculations made by the Republican and Democratic parties and their interest group allies in the Second District race.