Chris Cillizza: Why Donald Trump is like ‘radioactive waste’ in Utah

Washington Post

FIX: Most people ascribe Trump’s seeming struggles in the state to skepticism toward him from the Mormon community. Is that right? Or is there more happening?

Gehrke: That is a huge part of it. While Mormons make up about 60 percent of the state’s overall population, they account for about 85 percent of the Republican voters, and Pew has found that Mormons are the most reliably Republican voting bloc in the country — even more so than evangelicals. So you really can’t separate Trump’s “tremendous problem” with Utah Republicans with his “tremendous problem” with Utah Mormons.

It boils down to a style and substance that Mormons don’t like. Nobody wins in Utah by being in full-tilt attack mode. His immigration policy is a problem for members of a faith who serve two-year missions, many overseas, proselytizing for their church and don’t see immigrants generally as rapists and job-stealers. Trump’s approach to Muslims has been cited as a problem for a faith that was chased out of one state after another and still has a culture steeped in that refugee mentality. Church leaders took the unusual step of issuing a statement embracing religious pluralism after Trump’s Muslim comments.

And I have heard from many people that his personal conduct — the third marriage and brash nature, along with some doubts about where he is on abortion issues — doesn’t sit well with social conservatives. There are people in Utah who marry younger women over and over. We call them polygamists, not presidents.