Suhwan (Alma) Seo

Poli Sci 150

Professor Hawkins

October 12, 2012

Blog 5

 

            Though it would be difficult to exactly point out what LDS political identity is, there still are few characteristics about political identity found among LDS members. One of the causes of the LDS political identity is the uncompetitive election found in Utah. Many people think of LDS members as mostly Republicans with strong conservative views; however, it wasn't always that way, but with the rise of the Republican party, there was a shift in the LDS political identity that is known today.

            According to Morgan Lyon Cotti, a research director at the Utah Foundation, Republicans have held a strong majority since 1979 in Utah; however, the majority of LDS members weren't always Republican. Between 1933 and 1950, there was a strong dominance by the Democratic party. And during the early-1970's when the political races seemed competitive, there were more people out to vote and express their political identity (Cotti). However, with the Republicans becoming a strong majority, it has brought about a change in the LDS political identity. No longer is Utah looked upon as a swing state or a state with diverse political identity.

            Now Utah is considered a Republican state with majority of the Republican candidates winning either uncontested or by more than 30% margin (Cotti). Furthermore, Utah is also considered to have one of the lowest voter turn-out states because as the political races have become more one-sided, many voters feel that they either don't need to vote because their candidate is going to win anyways or that their votes don't matter. So LDS political identity has become strongly Republican with a low incentive to actually vote.

            Though having a low-voting turnout does not mean the people are lazy or lack the motivation to actually vote, it's just that people's identities have evolved and they don't feel the need to express their political view. The constructivist argument about political identity seems more applicable in this situation. The constructivist argument states that political identities are malleable and that identity is an evolving political process. And as a LDS society as a whole, there is a shift from a Democratic majority to a Republican majority after late-1970's ("History of the Grand Old Party"). In addition, there is a shift from proactive voter turnout to a more stagnant voter turn-out; however, it would be wrong to assume that the Republicans coming into power are the only reason that there is shift in this political identity among the LDS members.

            One of the causes that started this trend of Republicans gaining more support, then voters becoming more Republican, and then the decrease in the voter turnout is the change in the political stance of the parties around the 1930's. The Democrats took upon a more liberal stance with the initiation of the New Deal. And during World War II and the Cold War, there is a shift as conservatives began supporting the Republicans because of their resistance to the New Deal. So with this shift in trend, Utahans, who were mostly conservative, began switching their political identity which eventually led to the political identity that most LDS members seem to have today.

            In conclusion, the idea that political identities are something that people are born with doesn't seem to apply in this situation. According Cotti, there is a change of political identity from a more Democratic stance to a Republican stance (Cotti). And though there are many factors that have influenced this change, few of the biggest factors were the change in the political stance of the Republican Party as well as the Republican Party coming to gain more support from the people. These factors have pushed the LDS political identity to become what it is today.

 

Works Cited

Cotti, Morgan L. "Do Uncompetitive Elections Hurt Turnout in Utah?" Utah Data Points. Utah Data Points, 25 June 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2012.

"History Of The Grand Old Party." History Of The Republican Party. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. <http://www.socastee.com/politics/history_gop.html>.