BYU political science professor Quin Monson says there weren’t any drastic shifts in how Utah voted in 2024 when compared to the last presidential election in 2020.
He is leading a major survey of voters that closed on Election Day. BYU is still working to compile the data, but Monson shared some early takeaways with KPCW.
He said it’s not yet clear if Utah will shift away from its strong Republican roots.
“If Utah were ever to change, it would be because of generational replacement,” Monson said. “In other words, a new generation of voters emerges that is different in their partisanship from the previous generations. And we’re starting to see some hints of that.”
Monson said historically, people adopt their preferred political party in young adulthood, and usually don’t change their affiliation throughout their lifetimes.
“Younger generations, people that are in their 30s or younger, are less Republican,” he said. “That means that - in another generation, another few elections - we’ll have, I think, a chance of a little more competition in the state of Utah… I think we’re likely to see a Democratic breakthrough in the state in a future election.
Monson emphasized that will largely depend on what the Democratic and Republican party platforms offer to voters.
Survey data shows that the top issues for voters in the Beehive State include education, growth and the economy, particularly housing affordability.
He said initial data from their study also shows that Utahns continue to have high confidence in the state’s vote-by-mail system.
