It’s hard to be a Mormon in this election.
The standardbearer for your conservative values is a guy who has admitted to groping women, and wants to institute a religious test for people to enter the country.
Many Mormons in Utah are opting to vote for third-party candidate Evan McMullin – and FiveThirtyEight says he might have a chance to win the state.
But what do Mormons in Nevada do?
Former South Dakota Senator Larry Pressler is a recent convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was a Republican while a member of Congress for more than 20 years. He says they should vote for the Democratic candidate.
“Hillary Clinton really represents Mormon values in terms of childcare, in terms of immigration, in terms of refugee matters, in terms of economic development, in terms of national defense… and also in terms of religious freedom,” he said.
He’s in the state trying to convince his fellow Mormons why Hillary Clinton is the better candidate. He seems to be in the minority on this.
Tessa Hafen, a native Las Vegan and a former member of the public affairs council for the Mormon Church. She is also a Clinton supporter.
Hafen said Trump's announcement that Muslims should be banned from entering the country is especially troubling for Mormons. The religion has a long history of being persecuted for its beliefs. In the early days of the church, members of the church were forced from their homes in Illinois and Missouri by non-members.
Hafen also thinks many Mormons are struggling with questions about Donald Trump's character.
“He is not a man who is kind that I’ve seen," she said, "He is not a man who I think encourages us to work together, to speak kindly about each other.”
She said the church encourages its members to vote their conscious, which is why many are turning to McMullin. But Pressler said the third-party candidate has no path to becoming president.
“I say to Mormon voters not only are they throwing their vote away they’re throwing away an opportunity," he said, "Utah is throwing away an opportunity to vote for Hillary Clinton, who on almost everything, on six or eight issues just fits Utah like a glove."
Pressler thinks larger issues are at play in this election. He believes if Donald Trump loses badly enough it will be a chance for the Republican Party, which he believes has moved too far to the right, to improve itself.
He also thinks it is time for the American people to work at finding common ground.
"They have got to start listening to compromise, moderate, centrist solutions and that means hard work on the part of our people in studying issues and in following public policy,” he said.
From NPR: 4 Reasons Mormons Are More Skeptical Of Trump Than Other Religious Conservatives
Former South Dakota Senator Larry Pressler; Former Congressional Candidate Tessa Hafen
