martes, 11 de octubre de 2016

Utah complication on Trump: Straight-party voting

Polls indicate Donald Trump has a significant lead in Utah because of his support from Republicans and Mormons. Recent events have caused pause for the Republican Party and the LDS Church. Institutions largely silent to Trump's rhetoric against Latinos, African-Americans, Muslims and others now see an interest in distancing themselves from Trump.

Straight-party voting in Utah could have been eliminated legislatively had HB119 not been buried by the legislature earlier this year. Straight-party voting is a complication for the institutions dominant in Utah politics: the Republican Party and the LDS Church.

Repudiation of Trump would mean recommending against strict straight-party voting for Utah Republicans. This is no small matter. The four largest counties in Utah indicate Republicans benefitted from the straight-party vote in the last presidential election.

Here are the numbers:

In Salt Lake County, 36.6 percent of voters chose straight-party. 50.7 percent of those voted Republican, 47.3 percent voted Democrat, and 2.o percent voted another party.

In Utah County, 34.1 percent of voters chose straight-party. 88.0 percent of those voted Republican, 10.6 percent voted Democrat, and 1.4 percent voted another party.

In Davis County, 37.0 percent of voters chose straight-party. 77.4 percent of those voted Republican, 20.4 percent voted Democrat, and 2.2 percent voted another party.

In Weber County, 39.0 percent of voters chose straight-party. 66.7 percent of those voted Republican, 30.6 percent voted Democrat, and 2.7 percent voted another party.

Some Utah Republicans doubtless are wrangling with moral, personal and political issues over what appears to be a Trump wreck of olympic proportion. But the numbers and frankly Republican resistance to HB119 have made it worse.

No hay comentarios:

Blog Information Profile for alvarezkjarsgaard