Will Utah Mormons’ distaste for Trump turn a red state reluctantly blue?

The aversion to Donald Trump is so strong among Utah Mormons that if the Republican frontrunner secures the party’s presidential nomination, it could produce a general election outcome that has not happened in half a century: the state could go Democratic blue.

“The Bible says if you’ve got a wicked leader, the nation suffers,” said Chris Herrod, a former Utah state representative and a Utah campaign coordinator for Ted Cruz. “I’m not saying Donald Trump is wicked, but for most Utahns, the moral character of a leader makes a big difference.”

At the state’s high-stakes GOP caucuses on Tuesday, political experts say many conservative Mormon voters like Herrod will be motivated by their distaste for the real estate billionaire’s vulgar style, bombastic comments and outlandish anti-immigration policies – fueling an “anyone-but-Trump” mentality that has spread across the political spectrum in the very red state.

A new Deseret News/KSL poll found Trump would lose to Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders in Utah, while Kasich or Cruz would both win the state by sizeable margins against either Democrat.

At Brigham Young University (BYU), a college in Provo owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), young Republican voters said Trump’s behaviours and actions are fundamentally at odds with Mormon values.

“Trump is despicable – he makes me sick to my stomach,” said Cameron Moon, a 26-year-old Mormon who plans to vote for Cruz. “He’s just really disgusting and vile.” Considering Trump’s racism, sexism and bigotry, Moon said, he would be forced to vote for Clinton over Trump in November.