The Intermountain West Opportunity.

Folks, there is an opportunity after Romney's exit.  During his candidacy, there was exposed some deep prejudice against the LDS faith and its tenants.  

What does that mean?  Well, let's take a look.

There has been a few articles recently in the local fishwraps about the exposing of the hatred by the Evanglicans for the LDS religion.

Of course, this caused Romney votes in the south. Salt Lake Tribune columnist Rebecca Walsh noted this:

   Still, Romney's defeat has peeled back the layers of a lingering religious bigotry as virulent as anti-semitism and closeted as racism. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll in late January found that half of Americans said they would be "very uncomfortable" with a Mormon as president. That includes both Republicans and Democrats. But only Republicans have been voting for or against Romney up to this point.

   Many evangelicals' disdain for Mormons goes deep. They try to keep it hidden. But Romney's run for the White House forced their prejudice into the daylight. Evangelicals' sly ugliness ranged from Huckabee's New York Times interview, when he used an "innocent voice" to throw out the not-completely-untrue statement that Mormons believe Jesus Christ and Satan were brothers, to the Westboro Baptist wingnuts' threat to protest outside LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley's funeral because, they said, Hinckley was too compassionate to gays. So, I'm wondering: Why do so many Mormons stick with a party whose most powerful modern wing comprises a bunch of religious bigots?

Good question.  Here is her answer:

   "For many years, Mormons felt the Republican Party was closer to their views," says Richard Davis, Utah County Democratic Party Chairman and a Brigham Young University political science professor.
   "What they see now is that an evangelical was using religion against a Mormon in a presidential campaign. We're in new territory here."
   It might be too much to hope that Mormon Republicans will jump their party. In the end, many Mormons still see the Democrats as the party of gay marriage, abortion and tax-and-spend.

So gay marriage, abortion, and tax-and-spend.  

To sum it up, stereotypes.

I think its safe to say we have an opportunity here to go after disaffected LDS members.  As I pointed in a recent diary that the split was pretty much even right now.  

The member's of the "Church", as it is colloquially known around here, will never vote for Huckabee en masse because of his insults against the Mormons.  McCain may still be out in the cold come November as far the right wing vote, and if he takes a Southern Gov and well known evangelican to solidify the base, he may well discount the LDS vote entirely.  Either Obama or Hillary (or perhaps both) can make inroads here.  

In short, the Intermountain west area of Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho can be up for grabs this cycle.  All three states, and Nevada as well, have sizable LDS populations and and as such, there's a chance to crack the nut.  I don't think it would take very much work at all.

The main would be the appeal to those voters.  The LDS church, like them or not, does do a lot of work around the region and around the world for the poor.  They have food banks, operate thrift stores (with some good stuff surprisingly), and numerous other things.  Highlight these and praise the work they do.  Appeal to the common characteristics between the Democratic general stances and their own tenants.  Do so, and I suspect enough would listen.  

A low level GOTV and information campaign would be enough, I think, to pick up a state or two here.  The West and LDS folks pride themselves on independence, family, and honor.  Appeal to these things, talk about the stuff that is important here (Water rights, Nuclear waste, etc) and you might gain something.

It's worth a shot.  There is no risk and high reward (winning a state in the General).  

DNC, it is your call.