Delegates meeting in Utah’s Republican and Democratic state party conventions this weekend tend to have stronger partisan views than the state’s voters at large.
A new Utah Priorities Project survey shows Utah’s Republican delegates overlap Republican voters by 76% on an ideological scale devised by the Pew Research Centers. Democratic delegates overlap Democratic voters by about 77% on the same scale.
On “hot-button” issues such as the control of public lands in the state, Democrats and Republicans diverge widely, with convention delegates taking stronger positions than many voters. An interesting difference turns up on the issue of immigration. Republicans agreed with the statement that “unauthorized immigrants have a negative effect on Utah’s economy and society.” Democrats strongly disagree, with convention delegates taking a more liberal position than voters on that question. However, delegates from both parties agree with the statement that “authorized immigrants have a positive effect on Utah’s economy.”
The survey of 973 state party convention delegates was conducted for Utah Foundation by Dan Jones and Associates. It follows a statewide survey of Utah voters and a similar survey of candidates for governor, also published as part of the Utah Priorities Project.
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