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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- There are no Democratic leaders at the national level that Utahns can relate to, pollster Dan Jones said in a speech on "Why is Utah the Reddest State?"
Speaking to about 100 people gathered for the First Unitarian Church's Summer Forum lecture series, he said the party's failure to articulate an exit strategy in Iraq, create a clear policy on immigration or raise the minimum wage has made it hard for it to attract new voters.
A Democratic presidential candidate hasn't won Utah since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
The party's nominee for president in 1992, Bill Clinton, racked up the lowest vote in Utah. "That could be the same with Hillary" Clinton should she be nominated, he said.
Jones said that the 1973 Supreme Court Roe vs. Wade ruling on abortion "really solidified the Republican base" in Utah, and then in 1980, "Utahns fell in love with Ronald Reagan."
Jones said that many Utahns fell away from the Democratic Party after it became associated with abortion rights, gay rights and other social issues that might pose conflicts for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
He advised Democrats to raise voter participation.
"Go vote and bring 10 of your neighbors with you," Jones said. "Democracy is not meant for the naive, the apathetic or the lethargic."
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
