Independent candidate invites people of all faiths to join a new conservative movement
Ed: What is going on in Utah? People of faith, Mormons, have bucked a decades-long Republican trend and you may be the first independent candidate to win a state in decades. What’s going on?
Evan: I think a lot of people have this traditional understanding of Utah as a red state. That’s what they say, associating it with the Republican party, but I think in order to understand the state, you need to go even deeper than that. Utah is what I call a principled conservative state. This is a place where they are very much committed to the fundamental ideals enshrined in our founding documents—the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. I’m not saying that others aren’t, but it is a part of what this state is about.
There are other things as well. People in Utah care about their fellow man and fellow woman. They have experienced some degree of persecution historically in this country, so they’re sympathetic to other minorities, whether religious or otherwise, who might experience some kind of persecution. They see it and feel that they must stand up to it, because if they don’t, then they might be next and just because they feel it’s the right thing to do.
There are a lot of people who are very kind and decent and charitable in these parts, and when Donald Trump campaigns, he has a bit of a different style, and all of that combined just rubs people the wrong way.Ed: What you’ve described is Mormons rejecting the tone. What would you say to Evangelicals who statistically don’t seem to be rejecting Trump in the same way?Evan: In the case of Donald Trump, he’s somebody who does not embrace the truth that all men and women are created equal. If you’re …
