Donald Trump’s Mormon Problem
Throughout the primaries, Mr. Trump was pummeled in the Book of Mormon Belt. In Utah, he suffered one of his worst defeats, finishing dead last with a paltry 14 percent of the vote.
.. Of all the iniquities committed in this less-than-saintly campaign season, only one has managed to elicit an official response from Mormon headquarters in Salt Lake City: Mr. Trump’s call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is neutral in regard to party politics and election campaigns,” the church’s statement read. “However, it is not neutral in relation to religious freedom.”
It’s easy to see how Mormons might get spooked by a presidential contender bashing a religious minority.
.. In anexpansive Gallup report released last month, none of the 62 demographic groups surveyed were more ambivalent toward both presumptive nominees than Mormons were: Just 33 percent had a favorable view of Mr. Trump; for Mrs. Clinton, it was 21 percent.
.. They have high turnout and a reputation in campaign circles as top-notch canvassers unafraid of knocking on strangers’ doors.