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- Donald Trump Jr. visited Utah to strategize with political figures about mobilizing Latter-day Saint voters in Arizona and Nevada ahead of the upcoming election.
- His visit included meetings with notable Utah politicians and a hunting trip at Mike Schultz's ranch.
- Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign has intensified its outreach to Latter-day Saints in the same states, establishing advisory committees.
SALT LAKE CITY — With less than a month until Election Day, the fight over crucial Latter-day Saint votes in Arizona and Nevada is heating up.
Donald Trump Jr., the oldest child of the former president, spent the weekend in Utah, multiple individuals involved with his visit confirmed. Trump Jr. met with officeholders and political figures to "strategize" about Latter-day Saint turnout in the two Western battleground states.
A day later, on Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign announced a "Latter-day Saints for Harris-Walz" advisory committee in Nevada, mirroring a similar effort launched in Arizona last month.
Neither campaign's outreach efforts are supported or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which does not endorse government officials or support or oppose political parties.
Members of the church, however, are encouraged to be "responsible citizens" and to "engage in the political process in an informed and civil manner." In both Arizona and Nevada, two critical swing states, there are enough Latter-day Saint voters to sway the election.
That has led both major-party candidates to make concerted pitches toward Latter-day Saints in recent weeks. Harris launched her Latter-day Saint advisory committee, comprised of politicians and community members across Arizona, in late September, and a pair of virtual rallies — held via Zoom — have been organized for Latter-day Saints across the country.
While Trump has not yet launched any formal outreach to Latter-day Saints, the Trump campaign plans to unveil its "Latter-day Saints for Trump" initiative this week, multiple people close to the planning said. Trump's pitch to Latter-day Saints is expected to focus on conservative family values.
Trump Jr.'s Utah visit
Preparing for this week's launch was a major reason for Trump Jr.'s visit to Utah. He and his fiancee, Kimberly Guilfoyle, spent the weekend on a hunting trip at Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz's ranch in Morgan County. On Saturday, between sessions of the church's general conference, Trump Jr. held a meeting to plan for targeted Latter-day Saint outreach in Arizona.
There, hobnobbing with two dozen Utah politicos, Trump Jr. asked the group about the issues that "matter to people of faith, LDS or otherwise," said Utah Republican Party Chair Rob Axson, who was in attendance. "He talked about the record of what his dad did for people of faith during his first four years, and obviously, that will be a great guide and indication of how a second Trump presidency would be."
Guests included Schultz; Axson; Marlon Bateman, a former State Department official; Greg Hughes, the former Utah Speaker of the House; Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes; businessman Doug Quezada; and others. Bateman was part of a small group of Latter-day Saints who huddled with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago two weeks ago to strategize about outreach.
Trump Jr. visits Utah to hunt with some regularity, Schultz said.
"They love the LDS people and Utah's culture," Schultz, who hosted Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle, said. In 2016, Trump Jr. attended the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo in Salt Lake City with Don Peay, who organized the Trump campaign in Utah that year. He has made several trips to hunt in Utah, including a 2018 black bear hunting trip in Carbon County that resulted in a felony charge for Trump Jr.'s guide. In 2020, Trump Jr. appeared at a Pioneer Day fundraiser for Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, in Sandy.
During his weekend visit to Schultz's ranch, Trump Jr. said Utah "feels like a second home to him," recalled Quezada, one of the attendees. "He joked about being Mormon because he has so many kids," Quezada added.
Harris expands Latter-day Saint outreach
Before Monday, Harris' outreach to Latter-day Saints focused on Arizona, where Harris launched an advisory committee in September. The group is spearheaded by a pair of former or current Republicans: former Arizona Rep. Joel John, and former Mesa Mayor Claudia Walters.
During a launch event on Sept. 19, Walters said she felt "strongly" she needed to "tell people that it's OK — and not just OK, it's great — to be a person of faith and be supporting Vice President Kamala Harris."
Harris has secured endorsements from several high-profile Latter-day Saint Republicans in Arizona, including Mesa Mayor John Giles and former U.S. Ambassador and Sen. Jeff Flake. Giles spoke at a Harris-Walz rally in Arizona in August and earned a primetime speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
In 2020, President Joe Biden won Arizona by less than 11,000 votes, and Nevada by about 33,000 votes. There are enough Latter-day Saints in both states to play a significant role in the election's outcome: more than 440,000 Latter-day Saints live in Arizona, and over 180,000 live in Nevada.
In a statement given to the Deseret News, Melodee Wilcox, a member of Latter-Day Saints for Harris-Walz advisory committee in Nevada, said, "There is a place for everyone in this campaign, and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are supporting the vice president's New Way Forward that will uphold the rule of law, protect our democracy, and ensure everyone has an opportunity to get ahead."
"The choice couldn't be clearer, and the Harris campaign here in Nevada will continue to earn the vote of every single Nevadan and connect with voters from all faiths and backgrounds," Wilcox said.
In a press release Monday, the Harris-Walz campaign emphasized that Nevada Latter-day Saints are "typically conservative and independent voters," but they "played an important role in flipping the state in the 2020 election."
