In a state where four out of its five congressional representatives are Republican, 62.6 percent voted Republican in the last presidential election and roughly 60 percent of its population were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as of 2009, many Utahns automatically equate being Mormon with being a Republican.
But Crystal Young-Otterstrom, vice chair of the LDS Dems, the newly formed LDScaucus of the Utah Democratic Party, said that perception isn't necessarily accurate.
"We hear from far too many people who thought they were the only ones, but the reality is, there are thousands of Mormon Democrats in Utah," Young-Otterstrom said. "We can be Democrats and good members of the LDS church - those things are not in competition with each other."