Vice President Kamala Harris is increasing her campaign’s outreach to Mormon voters in Arizona.
Harris and her team hope to convince members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that former President Donald Trump will not represent their interests before election day in November. The Harris-Walz campaign launched an advisory committee on Thursday tasked with increasing outreach with voters who are currently or have been affiliated with the church.
Mormons represent six percent of the population with roughly 450,000 residents who are active members of the church. President Joe Biden narrowly won Arizona in 2020 by about 10,000 votes. Biden had twice the amount of Mormon support (18 percent) than former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Mormon voters have been encouraged to join Latter-Day Saints for Harris Walz.
“This election, there’s so much at stake for our democracy, our freedoms, rule of law and our culture and the free world,” said the campaign on its website.
The group hosted a virtual rally on behalf of the Democratic presidential candidate in early August.
“As Latter-day Saints, we know that voting for Vice President Harris aligns with our vision for America,” former Utah Congressman Ben McAdams told KSL. “When people ask us why we're supporting Kamala Harris, we can confidently respond that we support Kamala Harris, not in spite of our religion, but because of our religion.”
Rob Taber, the national director of Latter-Day Saints for Harris Walz, told Newsweek that 1,400 people took part in the August call. He also said the group is holding in-person events and trying to connect with Mormon voters through social media. He said members of the church are “ready to turn the page on the Trump era."
He argues that Harris “stands for pro-family policies, especially on the cost of housing, protecting in vitro fertilization, and lowering the number of women who die in or shortly after childbirth.”
“We also align much more closely to her balanced approach to immigration reform and appreciate her willingness to tackle price-gouging while promoting entrepreneurship,” said Taber.
Latter-Day Saints for Harris Walz has estimated that 73,500 members from Arizona may support Harris in the upcoming election, per The Daily Mail.
Despite democratic efforts to make inroads with the religious community, Latter-Day Saints nationwide are still likely to support the Republican candidate.
According to the Pew Research Foundation, 70 percent of Mormons are Republicans or lean Republicans while 19percent are Democrats.
Trump has generally had higher support among religious voters in America than Democratic presidential candidates. Between 2016 and 2020, he was again supported among evangelical voters, Catholics, Jewish, Muslims, and Buddhists. He also gained 11 percent support among Mormons, per The Conversation.
