Utah Democrats are gathering at Murray High School in Salt Lake City tomorrow where the party’s state organizing convention will be held. Among the speakers are the National Democratic Committee Man and Woman, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon and the featured speaker Democratic Second District Congressman Jim Matheson.State Party Chairman Wayne Holland says it’s true that while Democrats are strong on a national level, holding the White House and both branches of Congress, it’s not that way in Utah. But Holland says the mountain west is becoming fertile ground for Democrats.”Largely that’s because a lot of voters you’ve seen it in Utah, you see it from Montana over into Mexico,” Holland said on KVNU’s For the People program Thursday night. “They feel like western voters have been more independent-minded and the Republican party has been, for probably a decade and half maybe even two decades, really becoming a southern, regional party of the southern part of the United States. So thats given us lots of opportunity.” Holland said Democrats have been gaining ground in the last two election cycles. He says Utah and Idaho lag behind but in Utah the overall strength of Democrats increased by 11 percent the last two election cycles. Holland says that happened two or three cycles ago in Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada and somewhat in Arizona and Montana.