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The largest number of Latter-day Saint politicians reside in Utah. As mentioned earlier, nearly all Utah state legislators are Latter-day Saint, as are the statewide elected officials and members of the state’s Congressional delegation. At the local level, Latter-day Saints dominate in nearly all counties and cities in the state.

At the same time, there are areas of Utah where large numbers of those who are not Latter-day Saint live. They include Salt Lake City. One of the politicians in this section represents one such area. He discusses the challenges of being a Latter-day Saint elected official in Utah but representing large numbers of constituents who are not Latter-day Saint. Another interviewee represented the same area in the past.

However, the others represent constituencies that are predominantly Latter-day Saint. Yet, some clarify that they are not elected to represent just Latter-day Saints. They cannot use the predominance of one religion as an excuse to ignore others.

For most, there is a strong congruence between the beliefs of the representative and the represented. Some relate experiences where they faced some dissonance as constituents wanted them to vote one way, but church leadership sought a different vote. One case mentioned was the Utah Compromise vote in 2015 when church leaders and the LGBTQ community both supported legislation to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. However, many Utahns, particularly in heavily LDS areas, continued to oppose gay rights measures. Another example was the Utah Compact, which was a legislative approach to immigration that balanced law enforcement with compassion towards undocumented immigrants. The compact was opposed by many conservatives as too liberal. Again, the church supported the compact. However, many Latter-day Saints, including Republican activists, opposed the policy.

These politicians also relate experiences involving the church’s occasional lobbying for various policies, seeking inspiration for policy decisions, and applying their religious beliefs in interactions with constituents and other politicians. The Democrats discuss the dilemma of being somewhat of an outsider in both camps—namely, both Latter-day Saints and Democrats in Utah. These interviewees also lament a growing incivility and partisan polarization among Latter-day Saints in Utah. And they offer some explanations as to why that is happening and what can be done about it.