SALT LAKE CITY – The latest Republican “outrage” to be condemned by Utah Democrats is scheduling a canvassing trip that would bus Utahns to neighboring Nevada in an effort to flip that state.
Rather than objecting to the trip itself, Utah Democratic Party Vice-Chair Oscar Mata has come out against the timing of that effort.
“I am deeply disappointed in the Utah GOP’s decision to recruit volunteers to canvass for Donald Trump over General Conference weekend,” Mata said in a prepared statement released on Sept. 25.
“As a member of the (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) myself,” Mata added, “I find it disrespectful to ask LDS volunteers to choose between an important faith event and politics.”
The Utah Republican Party plans to bus Utah volunteers to Nevada on Oct. 3 to 6. The semi-annual LDS General Conference will take place in Salt Lake City on Oct. 5 and 6.
“This election cycle is critical,” according to a Sept. 24 post from GOP leaders on Facebook soliciting for Utah volunteers. “That’s why we’re organizing major door-knocking and canvassing trips, calling on every dedicated Republican to help turn battleground states red!”
Those so-called battleground states neighboring Utah are Nevada and Arizona, according to the Facebook post.
The Republican Party is offering to cover the cost of bus transportation and accommodations for Utahns who volunteer to bring their energy and commitment to the canvassing effort in Nevada.
The GOP effort comes just two weeks after Trump’s recent visit to Utah. With the Beehive State’s vote seemingly secure in his pocket, the former president called on Utahns to help swing the neighboring states of Nevada and Arizona into his camp.
General Conference is the worldwide gathering of the LDS faithful held twice a year during the first weekend of April and the first weekend of October. Church leaders from around the world are expected to share inspiring messages during that gathering.
As the GOP post seeking volunteers for the Oct. 3 to 6 canvassing trip to Nevada makes no mention of religious affiliation, Mata is only assuming that LDS church members will make up a large portion of any group that Republicans might assemble.
Commonsense would seem to support that assumption as well. It seems certain that the GOP would hope that statements of support for Trump from Utah volunteers would appeal to their coreligionists in Nevada.
But members of the LDS church number only about 180,000 within the Nevada population of more than 3.2 million.
Historically, the state of Nevada has been about evenly divided between Republican and Democratic voters, but Trump failed to carry the state by narrow margins in both the 2016 and 2020 general elections.
Since then, the state has become more polarized, with Nevadans concerned about inflation, gas prices and housing affordability. Other controversial issues set to appear on the Nevada ballot in November include abortion rights, voter identification and allowing public school teachers to strike.
Here in Utah, Mata says the UDP is scheduling its canvassing efforts and phone bank calls around General Conference sessions to accommodate its LDS supporters.
The UDP vice chair adds that Trump should be worried about losing the LDS vote here as well as in Nevada.
“Donald Trump does not embody the values of being ‘honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous and in doing good to all men,’ as the 13th Article of Faith says,” according to Mata.
“Unlike (Make America Great Again) Republicans,” he emphasizes, “we are working to elect honest candidates who support policies that actually benefit families.”