Hillary Clinton reaches out to Mormon voters in effort to win Utah
Hillary Clinton reached out to Utahns Wednesday in an effort to win over the state's voters, especially members of the Mormon community, for November's election.
In an op-ed in Deseret News, a major newspaper owned by the Church of Latter-Day Saints in the traditionally red state, the Democratic presidential nominee argued that she has worked to defend religious freedom throughout her life and will continue to do so as president.
"I've been fighting to defend religious freedom for years. As secretary of state, I made it a cornerstone of our foreign policy to protect the rights of religious minorities around the world -- from Coptic Christians in Egypt to Buddhists in Tibet," she wrote. "And along with [former Utah governor] Jon Huntsman, our then-ambassador in Beijing, I stood in solidarity with Chinese Christians facing persecution from their government."
Clinton said that Donald Trump, conversely, "doesn't seem to grasp" the nation's founding principle of religious freedom and has proved "he lacks the morals" needed to serve as commander-in-chief.
"In just the last couple of weeks, he's attacked the parents of an American soldier who gave his life for this country. He's all but proposed abandoning our NATO allies, and we recently learned he even mused about the possible first-use of nuclear weapons," she said.
She also alluded to and praised statements from leaders who happen to be Mormon, such as 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney; former Sen. Larry Pressler of South Dakota, who's now an independent; and the state's current governor, Gary Herbert, who all have criticized Trump for his proposed plan to block Muslims from entering the U.S.
"Listen to former Sen. Larry Pressler, who said Trump's plan reminded him of when Missouri Gov. Lilburn Boggs singled out Mormons in his infamous extermination order of 1838," she wrote. "Or listen to your governor, who saw Trump's statement as a reminder of President Rutherford B. Hayes' attempt to limit Mormon immigration to America in 1879."
She also name-dropped other Mormon leaders like Brigham Young, Gordon Hinckley, Thomas Monson and Joseph Smith.
Clinton is attempting to tap into growing antipathy for Trump, especially within the Mormon community, which could make Utah up for grabs in the general election. The state has not supported a Democrat for president since President Lyndon Johnson in 1964, but the Clinton could put the state into play now more than 50 years later.
Clinton's op-ed comes after her campaign launched Together for America on Wednesday morning, which is a group of independents and Republicans support Clinton for president. The list includes nearly 50 endorsements from former cabinet secretaries, current and former members of Congress, former ambassadors, senior Republican administration officials and former military leaders, among others.
