Mormons and the US Presidential Election 2016

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If you’re familiar with recent Mormon political leanings, you may be wondering what could possibly be unusual about Mormons voting for Trump. Here is Mormon voting data based on recent history compared to 2016 Pew analysis of exit polls:

2004	GW Bush: 80%	J. Kerry: 19%
2008	No data	No data
2012	M. Romney: 78%	B. Obama: 21%
2016	D. Trump: 61%	H. Clinton: 25%

So Trump won the Mormon vote . . . but in a lukewarm fashion. His victory was not the strong four-out-of-ratio we saw with Bush and Romney; Mormon GOP voting was down to three in five. That’s a majority, certainly, but not an overwhelming one. ("Most Mormons planned NOT to vote for Trump. What the heck happened?", Jana Riess, 15 Nov 2016)

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temple recommend holders were three times as likely to back fellow Saint Evan McMullin as non-recommend holders, by 18% to 6%. Apparently some of Mormonism’s most conservative and religious members were actively seeking an alternative to Trump.
("Most Mormons planned NOT to vote for Trump. What the heck happened?", Jana Riess, 15 Nov 2016)

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While many rightly struggled with the decision of whom to vote for, in Hillary Clinton many Utah women saw a flawed and unimpressive candidate whose policies would ultimately disadvantage and decrease genuine opportunities for themselves, their daughters and granddaughters.
("My View: What Mother Jones doesn't get about Mormon women", Sarah Matheson, 11 Nov 2016)

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