Harris campaign courts LDS voters in Nevada, banking on Jan. 6, distaste for Trump

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is making a play for a group of Nevada voters who have long been the safest of bets for Republicans — members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Harris campaign is launching a Latter-day Saints (LDS) for Harris-Walz Advisory Committee, following an identical effort in Arizona. With the race virtually tied in both states, the campaign believes improving its margins with the traditionally conservative group will be critical to win. In coordinating the public endorsements of prominent church members and engaging in formal outreach, the Harris campaign believes it can provide a permission structure for LDS voters skeptical of former President Donald Trump to abandon the Republican Party.

“We're taught that contention is not of the Lord,” said Andy Hafen, a former Democratic mayor of Henderson serving on the advisory committee. “And that's what we're seeing a lot now, is contention, and I think that is really a big part of former President Trump's makeup, and we need to get away from that.”

Courting Latter-day Saints voters will be an uphill battle for the Harris campaign — and one they expect to lose outright. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as Mormons, are among the most Republican religious groups in the U.S. A survey of partisanship among religious groups by the Pew Research Center in April found that 75 percent of Latter-day Saints identify as Republicans, second only to white evangelical Protestants. Typically socially conservative and known for impressive voter turnout and political organizing, Nevada’s community of more than 180,000 Latter-day Saints — mostly concentrated in Clark County — have most often been courted in Republican presidential primaries rather than general elections.




https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/harris-campaign-courts-lds-voters-in-nevada-banking-on-jan-6-distaste-for-trump