Utah delivers Republican presidential victories with predictable consistency — the state has not voted for a Democratic candidate since 1964, and its 2024 Republican vote share of 58.5% placed it among the most loyal red states in the nation.

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Republican vote share in 2024 presidential election: 58.5% ·
Last Democratic presidential win in Utah: 1964 ·
Cook Partisan Voting Index (PVI): R+13 ·
Utah ranking among most Republican states: #2 (2024) ·
Percentage of registered Republicans in Utah: ~55% ·
Republican vote margin in 2020: 20.5%

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
2What’s unclear
  • Whether growing non-LDS population in Utah will shift the state toward purple status
  • If future Republican candidates will maintain margins above 60% in presidential races
  • The long-term effect of generational religious change on voting patterns
3Timeline signal
  • 1964: Last Democratic presidential win in Utah (Lyndon Johnson)
  • 2012: Highest Republican margin since 1984 (Romney, 72.8%)
  • 2024: Trump wins Utah with 58.5% of vote
4What’s next
  • Utah’s 2026 midterms may test whether suburban shifts impact state-level races
  • Demographic trends in Salt Lake County could introduce more competitiveness
  • National attention on Utah as a potential bellwether for religious influence in politics

The state’s political identity is clear from its structural dominance across every level of government.

Label Value
State Utah
Political Classification Red state (solid Republican)
Cook PVI R+13
2024 Republican Vote Share 58.5%
2024 Democratic Vote Share 38.8%
Last Democratic Presidential Win 1964 (Lyndon B. Johnson)
Last Democratic Governor 1980 (Scott M. Matheson)
Current Governor Spencer Cox (R)
U.S. Senate Delegation 2 Republicans
U.S. House Delegation 4 Republicans (out of 4 seats)

Is Utah a red state?

Defining red and blue states

A “red state” is generally defined as one that consistently votes for Republican presidential candidates, while a “blue state” leans Democratic. Political analysts often use the Cook Partisan Voting Index (PVI) to measure this lean — it compares a state’s average vote margin over the last two presidential elections to the national margin. Utah’s PVI of R+13 means it performs 13 percentage points more Republican than the country as a whole, according to the Cook Political Report, nonpartisan election analysts.

Utah’s presidential voting history (2000–2024)

The pattern is remarkably consistent.

The implication: Even in years when Republican candidates underperform nationally, Utah still delivers a comfortable win. The state’s Republican floor is higher than almost anywhere else in the country.

Current political landscape

Utah’s current governor is Spencer Cox (R), and both U.S. senators — Mike Lee and John Curtis — are Republicans. The state’s entire four-member U.S. House delegation is also Republican, as tracked by Ballotpedia, election research nonprofit. At the state legislative level, Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers. This is not just presidential loyalty; it’s structural dominance across every level of government.

The pattern: Utah is not merely a red state in presidential years. It is a state where Republicans hold every single statewide elected office and command supermajorities in the legislature.

The upshot

For voters in Utah, the practical effect of living in a deep-red state is that general elections rarely determine outcomes — the real contests happen in Republican primaries, which often skew further right than the state’s median voter.

What percentage of Utah is Republican?

Voter registration breakdown

Approximately 55% of Utah’s registered voters are Republican. According to data from the Utah Lieutenant Governor’s Office, official state election authority, registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than 3 to 1. Another significant chunk (~30%) are unaffiliated voters, who in Utah’s closed-primary system can choose to participate in either party’s primary but historically tend to lean Republican in general elections.

Republican vs. Democrat affiliation trends

This ratio has been remarkably stable over the last two decades. While Democratic registration has ticked up slightly in Salt Lake County, it has not translated into statewide wins. The last Democrat to win a U.S. Senate seat in Utah was Frank Moss in 1970. The last Democratic governor was Scott M. Matheson, who left office in 1985.

Religious and cultural factors

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) has a strong influence on Utah’s political alignment. Roughly 60% of Utah’s population are LDS members, and research from the Pew Research Center, nonpartisan research organization shows that LDS voters overwhelmingly identify as Republican. This cultural alignment creates a self-reinforcing cycle: Republican candidates can rely on a strong base of socially conservative voters who are motivated by religious values, while Democrats struggle to build a coalition large enough to be competitive.

The catch: As Utah’s non-LDS population grows, particularly in urban areas, the political calculus could shift. But so far, that shift has been slow and has not produced any major electoral surprises.

Why this matters

For political strategists watching Utah, the state’s Republican loyalty is less about candidate quality and more about identity. A majority of voters are culturally Republican before they even hear the candidates’ names.

How does Utah compare to Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona?

Four Western states show a clean gradient of political competition.

State 2024 Presidential Winner 2024 Republican Vote Share Cook PVI Classification
Utah Trump (R) 58.5% R+13 Solid red
Arizona Trump (R) ~49% R+2 Swing (leaning red)
Nevada Trump (R) ~47% Even Swing (leans blue overall)
New Mexico Harris (D) ~41% D+3 Solid blue

Presidential election results in neighboring states

Arizona in 2024 flipped back to Donald Trump after narrowly going for Joe Biden in 2020, according to AP News, wire service election coverage. POLITICO described the state as having “flipped back into Donald Trump’s column,” confirming its status as a competitive battleground (POLITICO, political news outlet). Nevada also went for Trump in 2024, a flip from the previous cycle, with AP News reporting him as the winner. New Mexico remained reliably Democratic, voting for Kamala Harris.

Red-to-blue spectrum of Western states

The four states form a clean gradient. Utah anchors the deep-red end, while New Mexico sits firmly on the blue side. Arizona and Nevada occupy the middle ground, but with important differences. Arizona has become more competitive over the last three cycles, while Nevada’s Democratic lean is more structural, driven by unionized casino workers and a growing Hispanic population in Clark County. BBC News, international news organization noted that Nevada was treated as a presidential battleground in 2024 coverage.

Demographic and economic drivers

Utah’s economy is diversified (tech, construction, outdoor recreation) and its population is younger and more family-oriented. That, combined with high religious affiliation, creates a political environment that resembles the Mountain West more than the Southwest. Arizona’s fast-growing Maricopa County and Nevada’s Clark County are the real electoral battlegrounds — they flip depending on national mood. Utah has no equivalent swing county; every county except Salt Lake and Summit voted Republican by double digits in 2024.

Bottom line: The trade-off: For readers in Nevada or Arizona, the question “is Utah a red state?” has a clear answer. But the more revealing question is whether Utah’s political stability comes at the cost of national influence. In a country obsessed with swing states, being safely red means fewer campaign visits and less policy attention.

What are the top 10 Republican states?

Ranking by Republican vote share

Using 2024 presidential vote share as the metric, the top 10 most Republican states are:

  1. Wyoming (approx. 71% Republican)
  2. Utah (58.5%)
  3. Idaho (approx. 58%)
  4. Oklahoma (approx. 56%)
  5. West Virginia (approx. 55%)
  6. North Dakota (approx. 54%)
  7. South Dakota (approx. 53%)
  8. Nebraska (approx. 52%)
  9. Montana (approx. 51%)
  10. Kansas (approx. 50%)

Cook PVI ratings

By Cook PVI, the list shifts slightly. Wyoming leads with R+25, followed by West Virginia and Idaho. Utah’s R+13 rating places it near the top but not the absolute highest, which makes sense — the state occasionally gives Democrats a hearing in local races (Salt Lake City mayors, some state legislative districts). However, in presidential contests, Utah’s Republican vote share has never fallen below 45% since 1964, a record matched only by Idaho and Wyoming among Western states.

Historical consistency

Utah’s Republican loyalty is not a recent phenomenon. It has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1964, a span of 16 consecutive elections. Only Idaho, Nebraska, and South Dakota can claim longer current streaks among Western states, and none have done it with Utah’s population growth. According to 270toWin, election history resource, the last Democrat to win Utah was Lyndon Johnson in 1964, a year heavily influenced by the national backlash against Barry Goldwater.

The pattern: Utah’s ranking is not just about raw Republican share. It’s about consistency over time. Even in years when the Republican candidate loses the national popular vote (as George W. Bush did in 2000), Utah delivered a massive margin. That structural loyalty is what makes Utah a top-tier red state by any metric.

Is Trump red or blue?

Donald Trump’s party affiliation

Yes, Donald Trump is a Republican, and the term “red” in American politics refers to the Republican Party. Trump’s personal brand has become synonymous with red-state politics, but Utah’s relationship with Trump has been more complicated than the state’s support for previous Republican nominees.

Utah’s support for Trump in 2016, 2020, 2024

In 2016, Trump won Utah with just 45.5% of the vote — the lowest Republican share since 1992. Independent candidate Evan McMullin, a former CIA officer and LDS member, drew 21.5%, siphoning off moderate and religious conservative voters who were uncomfortable with Trump’s style. By 2020 and 2024, however, Trump consolidated his hold on the state, winning with 58.1% and 58.5% respectively. POLITICO’s Utah election coverage noted the state’s results were consistent with a reliably Republican state across multiple races.

Trump’s influence on Utah’s red status

Trump’s candidacy did not fundamentally alter Utah’s red status — the state still voted Republican comfortably. But the 2016 election revealed a fault line: a significant minority of Utah’s Republican voters are willing to abandon a nominee they see as out of step with LDS values like decency, family, and moral leadership. That said, once Trump became the standard-bearer, the party fell in line. The state’s Republican DNA proved stronger than any individual candidate’s appeal.

The paradox: Utah was never a Trump stronghold in the way that Wyoming or Alabama are. But it is still a red state. The lesson is that deep-red does not necessarily mean Trump-red; it means structurally Republican, no matter who leads the ticket.

Timeline: Utah’s presidential voting history

Timeline signal: Utah’s 16 consecutive Republican presidential wins show that its voters treat Republican loyalty as a structural identity rather than a candidate-by-candidate choice. For neighboring swing states, this consistency marks Utah as an outlier in a competitive region.
  • : Last time Utah voted Democratic (LBJ wins in national landslide)
  • : Bush wins Utah with 66.8%, beginning a period of 60%+ margins
  • : McCain wins with 62.2% as Obama makes small inroads
  • : Romney (LDS candidate) wins with 72.8%, the highest since 1984
  • : Trump wins with 45.5%, the lowest Republican share since 1992
  • : Trump wins with 58.1%; Biden gets 37.7%
  • : Trump wins with 58.5%; Harris gets 38.8%
What to watch

Utah’s political future may hinge on demographic trends. The state’s population is growing faster than almost any other, driven by non-LDS newcomers in the tech and construction sectors. If that growth concentrates in Salt Lake and Utah counties, it could produce a slow but real shift toward competitiveness — not in 2026, but perhaps by 2032.

Additional sources

en.wikipedia.org, bbc.com, en.wikipedia.org, youtube.com

For a deeper look at the state’s voting patterns, Utahs GOP dominance is explored in detail.

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Frequently asked questions

What does it mean for a state to be ‘red’ or ‘blue’?

In American politics, “red” refers to states that reliably vote for Republican presidential candidates, while “blue” refers to Democratic-leaning states. The terms became standardized after the 2000 election. Analysts use the Cook Partisan Voting Index to quantify this lean.

How is the Cook Partisan Voting Index calculated?

The Cook PVI compares a state’s average vote margin in the last two presidential elections to the national average. A state with a PVI of R+13, like Utah, performed 13 points more Republican than the country as a whole.

Which states are considered swing states in 2025?

Major swing states heading into 2025 include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Utah is not considered a swing state; it is classified as solid Republican.

Has Utah ever elected a Democrat to statewide office?

Yes, but not in decades. The last Democratic governor was Scott M. Matheson, who left office in 1985. The last Democratic U.S. senator from Utah was Frank Moss, who left in 1977. No Democrat has won a presidential race in Utah since 1964.

What is the religious makeup of Utah and how does it affect politics?

Approximately 60% of Utah’s population are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. LDS voters overwhelmingly identify as Republican, a pattern documented by research from the Pew Research Center, creating a strong and stable Republican base.

How does Utah’s voting behavior compare to Idaho or Wyoming?

All three are reliably red, but Wyoming is the most Republican state in the nation by both vote share and Cook PVI. Utah ranks second or third in most rankings, while Idaho is typically fourth or fifth. All three have long streaks of voting Republican in presidential elections.

Are there any signs that Utah could become a swing state?

Demographic changes — including a growing non-LDS population and urbanization in Salt Lake County — could create more competitiveness, but no major analyst expects Utah to become a true swing state in the next decade. The structural Republican advantage remains very strong.

For a voter in Nevada or Arizona, where elections are nail-biters and national campaigns spend millions, Utah’s political stability may look enviable. But the cost is clear: safe red states receive less national political attention, fewer campaign visits, and less policy leverage. Utah’s growing population of younger and more diverse residents will determine whether that identity serves the state’s interests in a country that rewards competition.