Everyone knows that Salt Lake County which contains Democratic Salt Lake City and 40 percent of the states population is more liberal than Utah as a whole.
But how much more liberal?
Well, the 13 state House Democrats and five state senators are all from the county, most around Salt Lake City.
Thats one measurement.
But we also have demographics as provided by years of polling by UPDs expert, Dan Jones of Dan Jones & Associates.
Lets take a look at some of those numbers for the county, and compare them to the state as a whole.
First off, Utah is a very Republican state. It hasnt voted for a Democrat for president since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
It hasnt elected a Democratic U.S. senator since 1970. And it hasnt elected a Democratic governor since 1980.
Yes, weve had some Democratic U.S. House members usually winning because they carried their section of Salt Lake County by large margins, evening winning a number of traditionally Republican voters.
The last was former Rep. Jim Matheson, who retired from the House in 2015. He had to jump from his 2ndDistrict into the new 4thDistrict after the GOP-controlled Legislature redrew the U.S. House districts in 2011, making it even tougher for a Democrat to win a congressional seat.
Lets look at some of Jones demographic numbers:
-- Across the state, 52 percent say they are Republicans.
-- Only 17 percent identify with the Democratic Party.
-- 28 percent say they are political independents; they dont belong to any party.
-- And 7 percent say they belong to some other party, like the Green Party or the Constitution Party. (The so-called Tea Party is not a real political party in Utah, but an anti-establishment, anti-government political movement.)
Now, look at the makeup of Salt Lake County (according to Jones latest UPD poll.):
-- Only 30 percent of county voters say they are Republicans.
-- Democrats jump up to 27 percent of county voters.
-- Independents are 35 percent.
-- And members of other parties come in at 7 percent, just like statewide. (Although there would be more Greens in this group, fewer Constitution Party members.)
So you see that Democrats pick up ten percentage points more in the county compared to statewide, and independents pick up seven percentage points more.
How about political philosophy?
Jones finds statewide:
-- 25 percent self-identify as very conservative.
-- 33 percent, a third, say they are somewhat conservative.
-- 17 percent say they are moderate, or in the middle.
-- Only 15 percent of Utahns say they are somewhat liberal.
-- And 9 percent say they are very liberal.
In Salt Lake County:
-- Only 18 percent say they are very conservative.
-- 24 percent (or a fifth) say they are somewhat conservative.
-- 16 percent say they are moderates.
-- While 24 percent say they are somewhat liberal.
-- And 16 percent say they are very liberal.
Big differences here, dont you think?
Put the two conservative groups together statewide, and Utah is 58 percent very or somewhat conservative or right of the middle.
But look at Salt Lake County, and only 42 percent say they are on the conservative side.
Statewide, only 24 percent, or one-fourth, of Utahns say they are liberals, either somewhat or very.
In Salt Lake County, 40 percent give themselves the liberal title.
Considering that liberal is sometimes a nasty word in Utah these days, and has been for years, that is rather remarkable.
Theres little doubt that the unpopularity of GOP President Donald Trump, who calls himself a conservative but really doesnt hold the title very well in Utah probably has something to do with more Salt Lake County folks being willing to accept the liberal title nowadays.
It is to be expected that the Salt Lake City mayor while to job is officially nonpartisan would be a Democrat. In fact, not since the mid-1970s has a Republican held that job.
But Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams is also a Democrat, and was a moderate Democratic state senator before he won the county mayorship six years ago.
The county council is 5-4 Republican, with Democrats holding the district attorney, clerk and sheriff posts in county government.
There are 29 state House seats wholly or partly in Salt Lake County. Democrats hold 13 of those seats, with Republicans at 16.
There are 11 state Senate seats wholly or partly in the county; Democrats hold five, Republicans six.
It was clear during the 2011 legislative redistricting that the majority Republicans were going to protect their incumbent House and Senate members in Salt Lake County.
And they did, telling Democrats in the House and Senate they could determine their seat boundaries, as long as they clearly gave up at least one House and one Senate seat their minority members being combined in some manner.
If you split up the political independent percentages evenly in the county giving half to Republicans and half to Democrats than Democrats in the House and Senate are batting below their percentage averages, but only slightly.
UPD calculations show 44.5 percent for Democrats, and 47.5 percent for Republicans and the parties are about at that with 6 GOP Senate seats (5 for Democrats) and 16 GOP House seats (13 for Democrats) in the county.
Democrats won two additional House seats in the county last year defeating Rep. Sophia DiCaro, R-West Valley, and getting the open seat left by retiring Rep. Johnny Anderson, also R-West Valley.
At various times during an extended count, Democrats also led in three other GOP House seats, losing them when the final canvas was counted.
No seats changed hands in the 2016 state Senate elections, and it looks like redistricting there shored up both Democrat and GOP seats in the county.
Finally, lets look at religious preferences statewide and in Salt Lake County.
There have been some well-publicized combining of LDS wards and stakes in Salt Lake City and the northern part of the county in recent years.
Jones figures show:
-- Statewide, 52 percent of Utahns say they are very active in the Mormon Church meaning they are likely tithe-paying members who have recommends (passes) to do religious work in LDS temples.
-- 7 percent say they are somewhat active in their LDS faith.
-- 4 percent say they were once Mormons, but are no longer practicing that religion.
-- 19 percent statewide say they have no religion.
In Salt Lake County:
-- 38 percent say they are active Mormons.
-- 4 percent say they somewhat are LDS.
-- 4 percent say they are no longer Mormons.
-- And 33 percent a third say they have no religion at all.
Thus, the county is much less Mormon than the rest of the state.
In fact, faithful Mormons are actually in the minority in the county, Jones latest demographics show.
In this analysis, Jones latest poll is of 607 adults statewide, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.98 percent.
The Salt Lake County sample was of 216 adults, with a margin of error of about three times the statewide numbers.
Should a proposed non-partisan approach to redistricting in 2021 get on the 2018 ballot and pass, we could see more Democrats elected inside of Salt Lake County than in 30 or 40 years.
But Utah, as a whole, is safely in the Republican column for decades to come, it appears.
More:
Analysis: Just how liberal is Salt Lake County? - Utah Policy
- Liberal | Define Liberal at Dictionary.com [Last Updated On: June 10th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 10th, 2016]
- Liberal | Define Liberal at Dictionary.com [Last Updated On: June 12th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 12th, 2016]
- Neoliberalism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2016]
- Liberal Conspiracy [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2016]
- Urban Dictionary: liberal [Last Updated On: June 19th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 19th, 2016]
- Liberal - RationalWiki [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2016]
- What Is a Liberal - What Is Liberal Bias [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2016]
- Liberal, Kansas - City-Data.com [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2016]
- Liberal Synonyms, Liberal Antonyms - Merriam-Webster [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2016]
- Conservative vs Liberal - Difference and Comparison | Diffen [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2016]
- What's a Conservative Ideology and What's a Liberal Ideology? [Last Updated On: June 24th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 24th, 2016]
- Our MPs | Liberal Party of Canada [Last Updated On: June 24th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 24th, 2016]
- Liberal Party of Canada [Last Updated On: June 24th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 24th, 2016]
- What's a Conservative Ideology and What's a Liberal Ideology? [Last Updated On: June 25th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 25th, 2016]
- Our MPs | Liberal Party of Canada [Last Updated On: June 25th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 25th, 2016]
- liberal - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com [Last Updated On: June 28th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 28th, 2016]
- Real Change - Liberal Party of Canada [Last Updated On: June 28th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 28th, 2016]
- Liberal, Kansas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: July 3rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: July 3rd, 2016]
- Delaware Liberal [Last Updated On: July 14th, 2016] [Originally Added On: July 14th, 2016]
- Liberal Democrat Voice [Last Updated On: July 14th, 2016] [Originally Added On: July 14th, 2016]
- liberal - Wiktionary [Last Updated On: August 10th, 2016] [Originally Added On: August 10th, 2016]
- Liberal Party of Australia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2016] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2016]
- Liberal Party of Canada - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2016] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2016]
- Paul Krugman - The New York Times [Last Updated On: October 4th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 4th, 2016]
- liberal - definition of liberal in English | Oxford Dictionaries [Last Updated On: October 15th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 15th, 2016]
- What does Liberal mean? - Definitions.net [Last Updated On: October 25th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 25th, 2016]
- Liberal Warren throws down gauntlet to President-elect ... [Last Updated On: November 12th, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 12th, 2016]
- Paul Krugman - The Conscience of a Liberal [Last Updated On: November 27th, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 27th, 2016]
- Main Street Liberal [Last Updated On: November 27th, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 27th, 2016]
- Liberal Studies - Interdisciplinary Studies - Clayton ... [Last Updated On: November 30th, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 30th, 2016]
- Quotes About Liberal (122 quotes) [Last Updated On: December 29th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 29th, 2016]
- Neoliberalism - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: January 31st, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 31st, 2017]
- Liberal Party of Australia - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: February 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 2nd, 2017]
- Mona Fortier wins Liberal nomination for Ottawa-Vanier byelection - Ottawa Sun [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Pro-DeVos ads air, saying 'liberal' critics are full of 'rage and hate,' as anti-DeVos protests are held - Washington Post [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Goodbye to the liberal era - New Statesman [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- The 7 Most Outrageously Liberal Super Bowl Ad Campaigns of 2017 - NewsBusters (blog) [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Liberal Orthodox rabbis oppose OU ban on female religious leadership - Jerusalem Post Israel News [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- I'm A Liberal, And I Want Milo Yiannopoulos On My Campus - Huffington Post [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Cory Bernardi to quit Liberals to form own conservative party - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Fake news for liberals: misinformation starts to lean left under Trump - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Liberal Judicial Activism Borders On Insurrection - Daily Caller [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- House Science Chairman Sees Liberal Cover-Up on Warming Pause - Scientific American [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Conservatives reject liberal humor in Trump era: Dave Berg - USA TODAY [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Cory Bernardi says he resents being used in Liberal party 'proxy war' - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- All liberals are hypocrites. I know because I am one - Quartz [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Scholars: 'Liberal' Reputation of 9th Circuit Overblown - ABC News [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Dear Readers: Letter From an Anonymous Liberal Pastor in Trump Country - Religion Dispatches [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- LePage uses State of State to rip 'liberal' attack on Maine way of life - Bangor Daily News [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- 'What took you so long to man up?': Cory Bernardi unable to explain why he's quit the Liberals - The Sydney Morning Herald [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Liberal Hashtag #NotMySuperBowlChamps Protests Patriots' Support of Trump - Fox News Insider [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Supreme Court Nominee Gorsuch Reportedly Goes To a Very Liberal Church - Mediaite [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Liberal Men Lash Out Against 'Unqualified' Woman Betsy DeVos - Daily Caller [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- How 'liberal' reputation of 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is overblown, scholars say - The Mercury News [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- NDP wants Liberal government to apologize for dropping electoral reform - CBC.ca [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Strategies for Saving the Liberal Arts - Inside Higher Ed (blog) [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- 'Angry Malcolm' channels John Howard to impress the Liberal tribes - The Sydney Morning Herald [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Liberal groups file lawsuit to block Trump's deregulation order - Washington Examiner [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Liberal land - Richfield Reaper [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Is Gorsuch a secret liberal? Trump, GOP have reason to wonder. - The Hill (blog) [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Wisconsin governor Scott Walker proposes surprisingly liberal budget - Chicago Tribune [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- 10 Most Liberal Companies In The US - Insider Monkey [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Tim Scott reads racist tweets by 'liberal left' over support for Jeff Sessions - Washington Times [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- BC Liberal staffer hired by government, but still did work for party - Vancouver Sun [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Trevor Bauer Takes Issue With 'Liberal-Slanted' Anti-Donald Trump Articles - NESN.com [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Why the liberal world order is worth saving - Irish Times [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Trevor Bauer goes on long rant defending tweet about liberal bias - Yahoo Sports [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Networks Swoon Over GOP 'Feeling the Wrath' of Liberal Town Hall Protesters - NewsBusters (blog) [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Liberal Tolerance: Sen. Tim Scott Reads His Hate Mail On Senate Floor For Supporting Sessions As AG - Townhall [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- The Claws Out For Ivanka Trump Show Liberal Love For Women Is A Sham - The Federalist [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Trump Takes a Running Whack at the Liberal Interventionists - The Nation. [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Indians swept by Liberal in WAC action - Hays Daily News [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Electoral reform 'not dead,' Liberal MP says at St. John's rally - CBC.ca [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- This liberal Brooklynite is on the hunt for conservative friends - New York Post [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Here's why we report on liberals - Newnan Times-Herald [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- The Paranoid Style of Anti-Trump Politics - National Review [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Liberal president Kent Johns blasts Ross Cameron as 'nothing more than a circus act' - The Sydney Morning Herald [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Finley: Left bites Ivanka's liberal hand - The Detroit News [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- What the Liberal-One Nation preference deal could mean at the ballot box - ABC Online [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- A new, liberal tea party is forming. Can it last without turning against Democrats? - Washington Post [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]