How Mormons could become key voting bloc for Arizona Democrats

Members of the Church of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, could become a key voting bloc in the battleground state of Arizona if their distaste for former President Donald Trump still holds.

During the 2020 election, President Joe Biden made strides with Mormons in Arizona, but recent polling indicated he was losing that momentum with the group. Now, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, has a sign-up page for “Latter-day Saints for Harris-Walz.”

“This election, there’s so much at stake for our democracy, our freedoms, rule of law and our culture and the free world. Sign up now to join Latter-day Saints for Harris-Walz,” the webpage reads.

Latter-day Saints for Harris, which was previously Latter-day Saints for Biden, saw its volunteers double within days of Biden suspending his campaign for reelection, according to Axios. During the 2016 election, Mormons doubled the support they gave Biden over former President Bill Clinton. Nine percent of Mormons voted for Clinton as compared to the 18% that voted for Biden in 2020.

Mormon support for the Republican ticket dropped from 80% in 2004 to 61% in 2016 as most other Christian groups moved further to the right.

“I do think Trump in 2016 — there were questions among not just Mormons, but other communities of faith,” former Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, who is Mormon, told Politico in 2020. “I think Mormons especially start looking at him as a different type of candidate than they did in 2016 because now he has a record,” in reference to Trump’s anti-abortion stance and religious liberty.

On Tuesday, Rob Taber, the national director of Latter-day Saints for Harris, hosted a call. Prior to the call, he said 2,400 people had RSVP’d.

“We’re a big tent,” Taber said. “You don’t have to agree with all of the Democratic Party platforms. This is absolutely a place where people who are undecided can come listen in and hang out.”

“A lot of members of the church really like having an online home. If they’re voting for the Democratic candidate, they often feel a little bit lonely or outnumbered in their home wards or stakes or in their families. And so if we can create a place that’s edifying, that also helps them get involved in the campaign, there’s a lot of good that can come from that,” Taber continued. 

Those in the Latter-day Saints with an unfavorable view of the former president could be a key voting bloc for the Harris-Walz ticket in the Grand Canyon State. There are more than 442,000 members of the Mormon church in Arizona. 

Two Utah Democratic politicians, state Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla and Rep. Brian King (D-UT), as well as the Republican mayor of Mesa, John Giles, joined the call. 

Giles, who is a Latter-day Saint and is in charge of Arizona’s third-largest city, is also backing Harris. In an op-ed published in the Arizona Republic, he endorsed Harris and called for his fellow Republicans to do the same.

“I believe my party has a moral and ethical responsibility to restore faith in our democratic institutions. In the spirit of the late Sen. John McCain’s motto, ‘Country First,’ I call on other Arizona Republicans to join me in choosing country over party this election and to vote against Donald Trump,” Giles wrote.