Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign is making an effort to woo members of the historically conservative Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arizona.
The Harris campaign launched an LDS advisory committee in Arizona that includes several current and former Republican officeholders, including former Buckeye lawmaker Joel John.
“Our faith places deep value on virtue, family and morality,” John, a committee co-chair, said. “We are also encouraged to seek out people for public office who are honest, good and wise, and, like myself, though church members have historically supported Republican candidates, since 2016 and the rise of Trump, more and more have become disenchanted with the GOP.”
Committee Co-Chair Claudia Walters, a former Republican Mesa Councilwoman, said Trump’s behavior, including recent comments attacking Haitian immigrants in Ohio, does not align with her values as a member of the church.
“I have watched Vice President Harris reaching out to people who may not look exactly like me or you, they might not have the same religious beliefs, but she does not turn people away because of those things,” Walters said. “She welcomes them in.”
However, some of Harris’ policy positions, especially her vocal support for abortion rights, could hurt her chances with LDS voters. As an official position, the church opposes “elective abortions,” but allows for “possible exceptions” in specific cases.
But Monica Chabot, another church member and participant in the committee, emphasized church members are not a monolith. She says she suffered a miscarriage about a year ago and required a procedure to remove the fetus that may not have been allowed under Arizona’s now-repealed near-total abortion ban.
“Living in a state that's under a Trump abortion ban, I understood that it's not about saving lives or children,” Chabot said. “It's a serious threat to my reproductive health and your reproductive health and equity as women in this country. In my church community and among friends, women are starting to talk about the impact of these bans on women and the danger they pose.”
Walters said Trump carries other baggage, including the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, that has alienated members of her church.
And she said the committee’s job is to help other members who hold those positions realize they’re not alone.
“There is something very intimidating about feeling like you're standing alone,” Walters said.
John said he believes a significant shift in the LDS vote could have a significant impact on the presidential election in Arizona, a state President Biden won by just 10,000 votes in 2020.
According to the LDS church, there are over 440,000 members in Arizona.
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