If you’ve lived in Utah, you probably know Rod Decker. He was a staple of KUTV Channel 2 News for nearly four decades. Rod recently retired, which has given him time to put together a political history of Utah. It is no secret that Utah is the most reliably Republican state in the nation, but at one time, Utah was a swing state. Rod will tell us how that change occurred.
Rod: Political science professor Frank Jonas taught at the University of Utah. There was a saying, “As Maine goes, so goes the nation,” because Maine was on the very east coast and its returns came in first. People watched Maine and they thought usually the nation went that way. He made a joke about it. He said, “As the nation goes, so goes Utah, because Utah voted mostly with the nation. Utah was a normal state. In 1976, it changes. Utah gives up its tradition of voting mostly for winners, and votes most strongly for the loser, President Gerald Ford, Republican, of any state. Next four elections, including that Ford, Reagan, Reagan, first Bush, Utah votes, the most strongly republican of any state. Utah’s had never voted most strongly for a candidate of either party before. It becomes enduringly and strongly Republican. It has only voted Republican since then, and it has been the most Republican state in seven of 11 presidential elections since then. Okay, we were normal, normal, normal, normal, normal, whoops, we’re Republican, Republican, Republican, Republican. It spreads throughout the state government.
Rod also said if only non-LDS voted, it would be the most Democratic state in the Union!
Rod: If only non-Mormon votes had counted, no Mormon votes get to count, Utah is the most democratic state for Al Gore. Utah is the second most democratic state for Barack Obama both times, even against Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney just gets wiped out in Utah. Utah is the fifth most democratic state for Hillary Clinton. Utah would have gone for Reagan the first time, other than that Utah been would have been democrat.
GT: So you’re saying that if we only counted non-Mormon votes.
Rod: Only non-Mormon votes, Utah is the most religiously polarized electorate of any state. We have Latter-day Saints. We have non-Mormons, we call them Democrats and Republicans, but pretty much it’s a religious divide. Okay, so what happened? Well, first Latter-day Saints changed. Latter-day Saints changed in 1976. That was the election after Roe v. Wade. Roe v. Wade was the Supreme Court decision that overturned abortion laws, including Utah’s abortion laws.
Utah has long had a problem with the federal government. In the 1930s and 40s, the United States was involved in the race to build an atomic bomb. Many of those above ground tests took place in the Nevada desert, and fallout from the blasts fell upon southern Utah residents. As a result, Utahns have had a history of opposing the federal government. Rod Decker will tell us more about these tests, as well as Utah’s love/hate relationship with the defense industry.
Rod: Utah was hit by the Great Depression, harder than most other states. What pulled them out was World War II. After World War II, Utah had a big defense sector. Utah for a number of years in the early 1960s, Utah had the largest defense sector of any state in proportion to its economy. I mean, we were nothing compared to California, but California was a bigger deal. Our defense sector provided a bigger percentage of jobs. We had Hill Air Force Base, we had other military installations, and we had a big rocket, a big aerial defense industry. We had Litton. We had Markon. We had Hercules. We had a lot of them.
…
In World War II, if you had a good job, that was good. But defense was was a good thing to do. We believed in America. We wanted to win the war. By Vietnam, we didn’t believe so much in America. We didn’t particularly care whether our guys won the war, maybe. We weren’t so patriotic. We weren’t so pro defense, and it wasn’t just us, it was the whole country. So then there were a series of controversies that are still going on, though less than they used to, over destroying nerve gas at Toole, over a lab to test biological weapons at Dugway. The big one, the start of them was the downwinder issue where were the United States tested atomic bombs in Nevada, the fallout drifted over southern Utah. It was said thousands died. If you look at the scientific papers, probably fewer–what they could show is maybe 50 or 60, not good, but…
GT: But not thousands, either.
Rod: Maybe only 10, maybe only 10 or 11. I mean, you can’t tell who died. A guy gets cancer and he dies, you don’t know.
GT: Was it from the smoking?
Rod: So yeah, what you do is they do two things. They do dosimetry. They calculate how much radiation he might have been exposed to. Epidemiology it’s called. They calculate how much cancer there was against how much cancer they think there ought to have been. We end up with maybe 10, maybe 50. Now the level of proof has to be high. It has to be 90 or 95% statistically, that it wasn’t just bad luck. That’s the way epidemiology works. Those aren’t special rules to beat up on southern Utahns. That’s the way it works, and by that 10 to maybe 50 or 60 died, mostly the little children, a lot of childhood leukemia.
Were you aware of this history? Would you prefer Utah went back to being a swing state? Were you aware that Roe v. Wade was such a big turning point in Utah politics?
Wheat & Tares 
It is a big problem for the church overseas. Most countries conservative parties are about like the Democrats, members believing they have to believe like Republicans to be good members puts them out in extreme country. The conservative party in Australia support universal health care, abortion as a right, gay marriage, and equality for women. So a good republican mormon keeps company with the racists, white supremacista, and misogynists.
Had we not gone republican we would not have the problem we have with discrimination against women and gays. The majority of the church seem to be Republican first, and christian second. Disaster for church.
And the abortion belief is a lie. Abortions reduce when Democrats are in. With respect for women, sex education, affordable health care, and legal abortion the rate of abortions can be reduced by more than two third. Making it illegal, which usually removes the other services actually increases the number of abortions, and the number of poor women who die. Trump has applied the global gag which cuts funding to ngos that have anything to do with abortion, so womens health care and birth control are also cut. Result 40% increase in abortions, and womens death in sub saharan africa.
But this does not matter because facts are not important, this is an emotional matter- if the R mormons I speak to are representative.
My guess is that Idaho places a close second. The problem comes when simply having an R or a D after a name on the ballot will probably determine who wins.
But then there is California. What a mess that is. I’m glad I live in Idaho!
There was no “race” to develop the atomic bomb in the 1930s–the U.S. effort to build the bomb began in 1942, after the U.S. entered World War II. And tests of the atomic bombs were conducted in New Mexico (in July 1945) and in the Marshall Islands and other locations in the Pacific Ocean (from 1946 to 1962). The first nuclear test in Nevada was conducted in January 1951 and the last above-ground test in 1962.
But to suggest that Utah Mormon mistrust of the federal government began as a result of the Downwinders ignores the first 60 years or so of relations between Utah Territory and the government in Washington.
“But to suggest that Utah Mormon mistrust of the federal government began as a result of the Downwinders ignores the first 60 years or so of relations between Utah Territory and the government in Washington.”
When talking about the atomic bomb in episode 2, we were focusing on 20th century state politics. In episode 1, we did mention territorial politics, but chronologically it didn’t make sense to talk about polygamy in the 1950s since it wasn’t a federal issue like it was in the 1850s.
“But then there is California. What a mess that is. I’m glad I live in Idaho?”
Gary—what mess are you referring to?
Since 1960’s CA years of governorship are split pretty evenly between R and D. However, the election of Trump has been devastating to the Republican Party in CA, losing seats in So Cal. (Orange County)
Kevin McCarthy and Devin Nunes are hanging on—for now—as they represent very conservative areas.
When one side or both sides nourish the extreme ends of our parties, it becomes harder to govern. Poison pill legislation and punishing our representatives for any and every reasonable compromise vote harms the democratic system.
(But mostly the rise of cable and radio commentary—particularly that on the right— is largely to blame for the extreme divisiveness we have today. Bring back Walter Cronkite!)
Rod Decker seems to have the usual journalistic myopia. He’s right as far as it goes, but in my opinion misses the elephant in the room. In the 1970’s the Democratic Party, formerly conservative, took a huge left turn and Republicans started becoming more conservative. The Civil Rights Act, for instance, was Republican; but it is unlikely today’s Republicans would push for such a thing.
Utanians do seem to require an “R” but once elected candidates frequently behave “D” (or just self interested).
I believe voting patterns are in part related to religious liberty and he’s sort of got that right but at least as reported here does not mention the hostility the Democrats have to religious liberty (liberty? Wazzat? You’ll bake a cake if I tell you to bake a cake!) and by now its probably cemented in concrete; your view of good and evil being nearly the mirror image of each other based on religious beliefs.
Michael, clearly you didn’t listen to the interview. Why do you make a strawman argument and make assumptions to show your own bias and lack of knowledge? Please. You are welcome to disagree, but please do so with an informed comment instead of making up stuff.
Rod makes the same points you complain that he misses, and in fact has more details than you have. He pins the changes squarely on Roe v. Wade, the sexual revolution, and changes in the political parties with regards to social values that you needlessly call “myopic.” You’re the one showing myopia, not Rod.
Once again, don’t make assumptions about something you didn’t bother to listen to. Comment as an informed person, rather than throwing around false accusations and ad hominem attacks (like myopia.) You’ll be much more respected if you make better informed comments, rather than making stuff up that you assume Rod must have missed.
My understanding of religious freedom is the right to practice your religion. We have a rugby player who against his contract, made comments on facebook that gays were going to hell. He has been sacked and is now suing his employer. So does religious freedom include the right to impose your beliefs on others?
I think he is way off on the down winder issue. He sounds like Trump! They said thousands died, I mean not very many, I mean maybe 10 or 11, I don’t know maybe 50, little Children mostly. There were hundreds and thousands of people exposed, my grandmother was awarded compensation after her death.
Ah yes, Rod Decker.
He’s forgetting the House. What about Jim Matheson and just recently Ben McAdams? Utahns do have a good deal of blue in them concentrated in select locations, of course.
“But then there is California. What a mess that is”
The state that Republican and conservative talking heads (and their viewers follow suit) loves to rag on because in the presidential elections it has been reliably blue. A state of 40 million people that is the third largest in the US. All blanket generalizations apply. Now Ohio and Pennsylvania, well, conservative talking heads are forced to delve into more specifics whenever they talk of those states lest they risk offending the inhabitants there and losing general elections.
Alright, I’ll indulge the clownery in the room (I thought he was killed off with his quip about being jealous of Joseph Smith marrying a 14-year-old a few posts back, oh well, clearly you give this guy enough rope, and well, ya know). I can’t help myself.
“The Civil Rights Act, for instance, was Republican; but it is unlikely today’s Republicans would push for such a thing.”
So you’re saying today’s Republicans would be against racial equality?
“hostility the Democrats have to religious liberty”
I know, those Democrats really threw a fuss about Muslims building a mosque a few blocks away from the World Trade Centers, nominated as their presidential candidate a guy who wanted to ban all Muslims from entering the country, and exclude from their view of true Christianity self-identifying Christians who favor same-sex marriage. Oh wait….
“So does religious freedom include the right to impose your beliefs on others?”
Yes; but remember, rights do not exist, not as a real object. They are a like paper money with zero intrinsic value but only as you, and others, believe it to have value. Seldom do very many people have the same sense of rights.
“So you’re saying today’s Republicans would be against racial equality?”
I’m saying the phrase no longer has reliable meaning but tends to be a left wing dog whistle. and thus opposed by Republicans for that reason alone, even while privately being in favor of many socially benevolent ideas. That is why Republicans tend to be charitable while at the same time opposing socialism; the former is choice and the latter is conscription.
“I thought he was killed off with his quip…”
What I seldom do is continue to beat a dead horse, figuratively speaking. I’ll write something and then I don’t need to write again for a while particularly when its the same readers every day having the same conversations. I also do not mean to stir contention. Controversy, yes, from that comes conversation, understanding and growth; but contention serves little useful purpose.
Rick B writes: “Michael, clearly you didn’t listen to the interview.”
That is correct. Linux does not want to play embedded videos. Really I am often more interested in reader responses to things. You are this community; he is not. Opinions are available by the millions on Youtube. Your commentary can suggest that some of them are more worthy of attention.
Michael 2 is unaware that most his comments are contentious? Wow.
I mean, when the rest of us write contentious responses (like this one), at least we know it. Now I understand him so much better! He honestly believes he’s not being a jerk!
Michael, I am not interested in millions of (often snarky) comments on Youtube. If your comment is not informed, keep it to yourself. I am interested in informed comments on Mormon history. I am not asking that you agree with me or my guests. Disagreement is fine so long it is grounded in knowledge, courtesy, and reality.
The purpose of my podcast is to teach people about Mormon history, science, and theology. I encourage you to read and listen more than you comment. I hope you learn something from every one of my guests, whether or not you agree with them. (I learn from every one of my guests, which is why I have them on my podcast. I frequently disagree with my guests, but I want to understand them.) But please comment from a place of knowledge and understanding, and stop making assumptions on what you think they must have said. If you do that, your comments will be better received.
I have a solution to your Linux problem. My transcripts are available for sale on Amazon. See https://amzn.to/30UHZqt Think of my interviews as the “cliff’s notes” version of their book.
“I’m saying the phrase no longer has reliable meaning but tends to be a left wing dog whistle. and thus opposed by Republicans for that reason alone”
So what you’re saying is that Republicans today would actually be against the Civil Rights Act, which secured blacks the right to vote, the right to patronize businesses, and equal employment opportunity, among other rights, because the idea of racial equality (inasmuch as it pertains to voting, employment, and being a customer) is a sort of code word that leftists are invoking to perk up the ears of a group of people (radical leftists, I presume) who hold prejudiced ideas about some disadvantaged racial group (whites?) but can’t say it like it is because of possible backlash by conservatives who will seize on more transparent, blatant displays of racism to expose the real prejudices of Democratic politicians to sway their constituents, who are very sensitive against racism against whites, against them to score political victories? I knew those lefties were secret racists against whites. Poor whites. They have it so hard in the US.
Ok, im shutting down comments since the conversation is no longer productive. Michael, please don’t comment on my posts ever again.