Trump effect? Fewer U.S. Mormons say they’re Republicans, study shows
Washington The share of U.S. Mormons who identify as Republicans has dropped sharply this year compared with 2012, when Mitt Romney headed the GOP ticket, with less than half the LDS faithful now saying they align with the GOP, a new study shows.
More than 60 percent of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in 2012 that they were Republicans; now 48 percent say the same, according to the Pew Research Center, which conducted interviews with 8,000 Americans for its study of voter identification.
Pew also found that Mormons who say they lean Republican, or count themselves as officially part of the Grand Old Party, still account for a large percentage, 69 percent, though that is down from 78 percent four years ago. About 24 percent of Latter-day Saints say they lean or consider themselves Democrats.
Observers chalk up the change in party alignment to two things: the Romney factor and the Mormon concern with GOP nominee Donald Trump.
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