How Did Mormons Become So Republican?

On Wednesday night (Oct. 7), Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris will take the stage in Salt Lake City for the 2020 vice presidential debate. The event’s location in a reliably Republican state gives Pence a bit of a home court advantage, if the Trump-Pence signs that lined the streets as his motorcade coursed through town Monday are any indication.

In an election cycle in which President Donald Trump is chronically behind in the polls nationally, it’s still highly likely that Utah will deliver for the Trump-Pence ticket. The state isn’t supporting Trump to nearly the degree that it embraced previous GOP presidential candidates John McCain (’08) or Mitt Romney (’12), but voters still favor the president by 10 points in a recent poll.