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Josie Valdez added a little extra flair to her already patriotic cowboy hat: On top of the American-flag printed fabric and brass stars, Valdez glued two small paper signs printed from her computer that read "HILLARY."
Valdez wore the hat to a Hillary for Utah summit Saturday afternoon at Trolley Square that focused on encouraging women to vote and canvass for the female presidential candidate.
"I have been a bra-burning activist for women's rights since the '70s," Valdez said, noting that she mailed in her ballot the day she got it with a vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Utah, a once cemented Republican win, has become a swing state in this election. Some recent polls show Clinton, Republican Donald Trump and independent Evan McMullin in a statistical tie in the state. Others have either Trump or McMullin ahead by a few percentage points.
With the competitive race, Clinton's campaign has increased its efforts in Utah, adding five new staffers and intensifying surrogate visits — including a rally Friday with feminist Gloria Steinem. Clinton's running mate, Tim Kaine, previously acknowledged in an interview with local TV station ABC4 Utah that winning the state, which has not voted for a Democratic president since 1964, is a possibility for the candidate.
At Saturday's summit, which had about 50 primarily female attendees, speakers marked the state as "a huge opportunity to make a statement." Were Clinton to win Utah, said keynote speaker Stephanie Schriock, "it's going to be the talk of everything on election night."
Schriock, president of EMILY's List, a program that promotes pro-choice women running for office, also marked the differences between Clinton and Trump, particularly condemning the Republican's "nasty woman" aside in the Wednesday debate and rallying behind the idea of electing the first female president.
"What Donald Trump has laid out for his vision of this country is not who we are," Schriock said. "We need to make sure that every voter here in Utah knows what the stakes are."
Former U.S. Rep. Karen Shepherd, D-Utah, said this year could provide "another perfect storm" for women, like the year she was elected: 1992 — labeled the "Year of the Woman" because of the high number of female candidates elected to the U.S. Senate (as well as the year Bill Clinton was elected president).
On Saturday, Shepherd sat next to two other female political leaders from Utah: state Rep. Patrice Arent, D-Millcreek, and Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson, a Democrat. All three support Clinton's run.
The crowd was also filled with decorated Clinton supporters from across the state, though mainly Salt Lake City. Some wore large magenta campaign buttons that said "Women Together." Others had on gray "Votes for Women" T-shirts.
Lisa Browdy, who moved to Utah from Chicago a few years ago, told her husband it might be a pivotal year for the both of them: "Can you imagine if the Cubs won the World Series and a woman was elected? We could both die happy."
Browdy, who voted for Clinton by mail, applauds the candidate's efforts to support families and kids, particularly her work with the Children's Defense Fund. She also admires Clinton's grit and grace in shattering glass ceilings, championing reproductive rights and supporting equal pay for women.
"Sexism is stronger than racism in this country, as far as presidential politics go," Browdy said. She's been working at a local phone bank for Clinton during the election.
Clinton's retracted support of the Iraq war and the audit over using a private email server were the primary criticisms Trump lobbed at the candidate during the three debates. Despite that, Valdez, former vice chairwoman of the Utah Democratic Party — and whose husband, state Rep. Mark Wheatley, D-Murray, is running for re-election — said "it's time" for a woman to hold the highest political office in the country.
"It'll be glorious not only because [Clinton's] a woman," she said, "but because she's prepared to take the helm."
Twitter: @CourtneyLTanner