title:  Clinton’s Latest Electoral Appeal? Mormon Voters – And It Could Work
text: Many people will assume those who are religious will automatically vote Republican. That may be true with Evangelicals and Protestants, but that s not the case with Catholics, Jews and Muslims.But there is one religious group that is stuck between a rock and a hard place: Mormons.It s no secret Mormon voters (especially in Utah) hate Donald Trump. He s arrogant, vulgar, an adulterer, a liar and a sneak. And he openly exults it with little to no shame.The New York Times found that Trump does in fact have a  Mormon  problem, with only 33 percent having a favorable view of the Republican candidate. In the Utah Republican primary, Trump finished dead last with only 14 percent of the vote (Ted Cruz won).When it comes to Hillary Clinton, Mormons often give the same response   the cold shoulder   but not with the same vitriol as shown to Trump.That s why Clinton is seizing the opportunity and appealing to weary voters in Utah and aboard, hoping to solidify a coalition of traditional religious, Republican voters.In an op-ed featured in a newspaper owned by the Mormon Church, Clinton makes that appeal head on, writing:I ve been fighting to defend religious freedom for years. As secretary of state, I made it a cornerstone of our foreign policy to protect the rights of religious minorities around the world   from Coptic Christians in Egypt to Buddhists in Tibet. And along with Jon Huntsman, our then-ambassador in Beijing, I stood in solidarity with Chinese Christians facing persecution from their government.We stood up for these oppressed communities because Americans know that democracy ceases to exist when a leader or ruling faction can impose a particular faith on everyone else.Clinton drew parallels between Mormons, who were once profiled and discriminated against, and Trump s call to ban Muslims from entering the United States:Everyday Trump continues to prove he lacks the morals to be our commander in chief. With a new and outrageous headline seeming to pop up every day, it s easy to forget that Trump showed us his true colors early on, when he proposed banning all Muslims from our shores. That would undue centuries of American tradition and values. When it comes to religion, we strive to be accepting of everyone around us. That s because we need each other.The editor of the newspaper shed some hopeful light on the prospect of a Clinton win for Utah, stressing that the Republican, Mormon voter base has a  libertarian streak  when it comes to the issue of immigration, which affects the southwest more than any other region in the United States. Sensing that immigrants make communities stronger, Mormons tend to be more sympathetic to their plights. And the newspaper also noted that Mormon voters are  very sensitive  to religious persecution, which Trump has successfully made a crux in his campaign.The last Democrat to win Utah was Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Let s make it happen again in 2016.Featured image via Steve Pope/Getty Images