We don’t call this day “Super Tuesday” by chance. This Tuesday, March 5, voters in around fifteen American states will choose their candidates for the presidential election in November 2024. More than a third of the delegates responsible for electing the president will be designated. In Utah, a conservative state, Donald Trump is leading the voting intentions.
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With our special correspondents in East Carbon, Aabla Jounaïdi And Julien Boileau
Republicans win every presidential election in Utah, west of the UNITED STATES. The party also dominates the state’s legislative institutions: the Senate, House and governorship. The capital, Salt Lake City, escapes the Republicans, but in rural Utah, it is the conservative camp that reigns.
Lenise Peterman is running for local legislative office in Carbon County. She, who declares herself independent, took the Republican Party card to have every chance: “ Twenty years ago, Carbon was a very blue county. We voted strongly Democratic and I think that changed with Obama. He attacked the coal industry to ensure clean air. I think that was the big turning point. »
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The weight of the Mormon Church
However, some voters no longer believe it. As elsewhere in the United States, many women are shocked by the behavior of Donald Trump, the poll favorite. At mass last Sunday, the Mormon pastor from East Carbon called on people to vote and participate in the local caucuses on March 5. Not enough to remotivate Melinda, one of the followers of this church which has its world capital here in Utah:
“ I don’t vote for the lesser evil. I only vote for someone who I know is interested in and committed to solving problems. This is the type of person I trust. Right now there is no one I could vote for. »
The demographic, but also economic, weight of the Mormon church makes it a major political player, but its management ensures that it remains neutral in the presidential race. However, a few weeks ago, its leaders sent a letter to their flock: participate in the caucuses and choose, independently of any party, the candidate who has proven his competence, his integrity and his ability to serve. Many analysts saw it as a message calling not to vote for Donald Trump. It would not be the first time that the Church has distanced itself from the former president.
American primaries: in Utah, time to choose between Biden and Trump
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