The Salt Lake Tribune -- Mormon, GOP Link Doomed Democrats

Pollster Dan Jones presented a bleak postmortem Thursday to a gathering of 30 or so Democratic Party insiders, and the religion-related statistics were the most discouraging of all for the group.

"They're voting for the Republican Party as the church," said state Rep. Pat Jones, D-Holladay, wife and polling business partner of Dan Jones.

Since Nixon, Mormon leadership has developed close ties with the Republican party and has pushed the issue that the Republican party is the Mormon party.