 He left Congress as his third term expired in January 1997, and no Democrat would be elected to Congress from Utah again until Jim Matheson's victory in 2000.The Democrats have not seriously contested the 3rd District since then; indeed, no Democrat has crossed the 40 percent mark since Orton's defeat, proving just how Republican this district was.Utah and national political pundits blame Orton's loss on the creation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument without local input.