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Donald Trump’s ‘Mormon Problem’ overstated, Utah backer says

Posted at 5:42 PM, Aug 24, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-24 19:42:31-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- The discussion of Donald Trump's "Mormon Problem," took a turn this week with an opinion piece published on Breitbart.com.

The essay, by former Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, suggests that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' stance on immigration is the reason for Trump's poor performance in communities with large Mormon populations.

"It is an open secret in Washington, D.C. that the Mormon church supports open borders and lax enforcement of immigration laws," Tancredo wrote on the site that was founded in part by Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's new campaign CEO.

The point person for Trump's efforts in Utah, Don Peay, says the argument doesn't hold water and that the LDS Church's position is actually in line with Trump's newly-softened stance on illegal immigration.

"As a Utah citizen, I think it's a smart position that he's taken," Peay said. "Secure the borders, legal immigration, let's figure out how to deal with the 11 million people that are here."

Peay said he's confident Trump will win the Beehive State, but he acknowledged that Trump's brash style doesn't play as well in Utah as it does in more, "blue collar" states.