The majority of Provo residents say they want health care reform, though probably nothing similar to what was being raucously debated on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday.

A BYU exit poll conducted on Election Day shows that the majority of residents want "limited reform."

"Then it's up to you to decide what 'limited reform' means," said Quin Monson with the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy. Because of the area's decidedly conservative bent, voters are likely not looking for the kind of reform being pitched by Democrats in Washington, D.C.

The exit poll covered a number of topics, including health care, Provo issues and Sen. Bob Bennett's chances at re-election in 2010.

Bennett has a favorable rating -- 55 percent -- among general election voters but is facing a strong challenge within his own party. One anomaly in the data, Monson said, is that voters who strongly identify themselves as Republicans favor Bennett even more at 61 percent. It was believed that Bennett was losing support among the party faithful.

Among all voters, the exit poll showed Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff at 40 percent in the Senate race, except that he suspended his campaign the day after the election citing family concerns. Whether that means those voters will go back to Bennett or look for another challenger to glom on to is unknown.

"I think he has a lot to be nervous about in terms of the primary and especially the convention," Monson said. (Conventions tend to involve the more idealistic elements of a party, and if a candidate can gain enough support in a party convention, a primary election is not required. No primary means Bennett's massive war chest couldn't be brought to bear.)

A few more interesting results:

• Locally, Provo residents are interested in a new city recreation center. The proposed center -- discussed by both mayoral candidates this year -- gets a slight majority in favor of the idea and very little opposition. There is a solid group in the middle that are indifferent.

• Voters were split nearly down the middle over whether the mayoral race was negative in nature. Of the 50 percent who felt negative tactics were used, 32 percent felt Steve Clark ran a negative campaign while 18 percent felt John Curtis did.

• The mayoral race had nearly no partisan angle, while council district races showed strong party leanings. That's not normally how it works, Monson said. Typically, if party creeps into a nonpartisan race, it does so at the top of the ticket. Reasons for the unusual results include a strong campaign against Councilwoman Cindy Richards led by Taylor Oldroyd -- who is also the chairman of the county's Republican Party and CEO of the county Association of Realtors.

Related

• House, Senate bills detailed