{"id":23147,"date":"2012-11-02T15:00:58","date_gmt":"2012-11-02T20:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/?p=23147"},"modified":"2012-11-02T16:08:23","modified_gmt":"2012-11-02T21:08:23","slug":"mormons-in-the-running","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2012\/11\/mormons-in-the-running\/","title":{"rendered":"Mormons in the Running"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Danielle<\/a>
Danielle U. Beirne<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the election approaching on Tuesday, I’ve been racing to put together a rundown of the candidates who are Mormon around the country.\u00a0 I know that Kay Atkinson King has done an extensive series on BCC going over the congressional elections<\/a>, but I think that my summary below has a few additional pieces of information, including both state level elections and information on a few candidates who aren’t actually Mormon but who have significant Mormon connections or were once Mormon — a status that we will probably see more in the future.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

First I will summarize the Federal level candidates and then I’ll list the state level candidates state by state, except for Utah, where the number of candidates is so large that I will either have to skip it or do another post later.<\/p>\n

As always, I am interested in further information. In some caes I have made assumptions about who is Mormon when complete information isn’t available. When I know that someone is no longer Mormon, I have indicated it.<\/p>\n

Incumbents are marked with an * preceding their name.<\/p>\n

Federal Candidates<\/h2>\n

U.S. President<\/h3>\n

I know that everyone knows about Mitt Romney, and many know about Jon Huntsman, Jr. But the story doesn’t quite stop there.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Rocky Anderson \u2014 Justice Party<\/li>\n
  • Cesar Cisneros \u2014 Republican (lost primaries)<\/li>\n
  • Jon Huntsman, Jr. \u2014 Republican (lost primaries)<\/li>\n
  • Edward C. Noonan \u2014 American Independent (lost primary, subsequently left party)<\/li>\n
  • Mitt Romney \u2014 Republican nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    I’ve left off several other minor candidates who don’t appear to have made the ballot in any state.<\/p>\n

    U.S. Senate<\/h3>\n
      \n
    • *Mike Crapo \u2014 Republican, Idaho [Next election for this seat is in 2016.]<\/li>\n
    • Jeff Flake \u2014 Republican, Arizona<\/li>\n
    • *Orrin Hatch \u2014 Republican, Utah<\/li>\n
    • *Dean Heller \u2014 Republican, Nevada<\/li>\n
    • Scott Howell \u2014 Democrat, Utah<\/li>\n
    • *Mike Lee \u2014 Republican, Utah [Next election for this seat is in 2016.]<\/li>\n
    • Shaun McCausland \u2014 Constitution, Utah<\/li>\n
    • *Harry Reid \u2014 Democrat, Nevada [Next election for this seat is in 2016.]<\/li>\n
    • *Mark Udall \u2014 Democrat, Colorado [Next election for this seat is in 2014.] — Does not consider himself LDS, but comes from a historically LDS family.<\/li>\n
    • *Tom Udall \u2014 Democrat, New Mexico [Next election for this seat is in 2014.]<\/li>\n
    • Dave VanderBeek \u2014 American Independent, Nevada<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Hatch is expected to win. Flake and Heller are ahead, but their races are considered toss ups at Real Clear Politics. If all three win, there will be 7 Mormons in the Senate, and one senator from a historically LDS family.<\/p>\n

      Already eliminated in the primary or other elections:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Dale Ash \u2014 Republican, Utah<\/li>\n
      • Peter Ashdown \u2014 Democrat, Utah<\/li>\n
      • Wil Cardon \u2014 Republican, Arizona<\/li>\n
      • David Chiu \u2014 Republican, Utah<\/li>\n
      • Greg Sowards \u2014 Republican, New Mexico<\/li>\n
      • Bob Worsley \u2014 Republican, Arizona<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        U.S. House<\/h3>\n
          \n
        • *Rob Bishop \u2014 Republican, Utah 1st<\/li>\n
        • *Leonard Boswell \u2014 Democrat, Iowa 3rd (member of Community of Christ, fka RLDS Church)<\/li>\n
        • Jim Bourland \u2014 Constitution, Mississippi 1st<\/li>\n
        • *Mo Brooks \u2014 Republican, Alabama 5th (convert, wife LDS, no longer considers himself LDS)<\/li>\n
        • *Jason Chaffetz \u2014 Republican, Utah 3rd<\/li>\n
        • *Eni F. H. Faleomavaega \u2014 Democrat, American Samoa<\/li>\n
        • Floyd Fitzgibbons \u2014 American Independent, Nevada 4th<\/li>\n
        • Ethan Garafolo \u2014 Libertarian, Texas 31st<\/li>\n
        • Jonathan Garrard \u2014 Constitution, Utah 2nd<\/li>\n
        • Chris Henrichsen \u2014 Democrat, Wyoming<\/li>\n
        • Seth Hollist \u2014 Libertarian, Texas 32nd<\/li>\n
        • *Darrell Issa \u2014 Republican, California 49th (Mother is LDS, he doesn’t consider himself LDS)<\/li>\n
        • *Raul Labrador \u2014 Republican, Idaho 1st<\/li>\n
        • Mia Love \u2014 Republican, Utah 4th<\/li>\n
        • *Buck McKeon \u2014 Republican, California 25th<\/li>\n
        • *Jim Matheson \u2014 Democrat, Utah 4th<\/li>\n
        • Matt Salmon \u2014 Republican, Arizona 5th<\/li>\n
        • Jay Seegmiller \u2014 Democrat, Utah 2nd<\/li>\n
        • Soren Simonsen \u2014 Democrat, Utah 3rd<\/li>\n
        • *Mike Simpson \u2014 Republican, Idaho 2nd<\/li>\n
        • Kyrsten Sinema \u2014 Democrat, Arizona 9th (Gay, inactive Mormon and BYU graduate)<\/li>\n
        • Chris Stewart \u2014 Republican, Utah 2nd<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Bishop, Brooks, Chaffetz, Issa, Labrador, Love, McKeon, Salmon, Simpson and Sinema are all expected to win. Boswell is a toss-up. I haven’t found any information about Faleomavaega’s prospects. Others are expected to lose. [Including, unfortunately, my friend Chris Henrichsen.]<\/p>\n

          Already eliminated in the primary or other elections:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • Martin Baker \u2014 Republican, Missouri 1st<\/li>\n
          • Jay Cobb \u2014 Republican, Utah 4th<\/li>\n
          • Ryan Combe \u2014 Democrat, Utah 1st<\/li>\n
          • Robert Cornilles \u2014 Republican, Oregon 1st (lost in special election in January)<\/li>\n
          • Cherilyn Eager \u2014 Republican, Utah 2nd<\/li>\n
          • Leonard Fabiano \u2014 Republican, Utah 1st<\/li>\n
          • Chick Heileson \u2014Republican, Idaho 2nd<\/li>\n
          • Gaither Martin \u2014 Republican, Arizona 1st<\/li>\n
          • Clay Thibodeau \u2014 Republican, California 42nd<\/li>\n
          • Kenneth Wenger \u2014 Republican, Nevada 4th<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            .<\/p>\n

            State Level Candidates<\/h2>\n

            Arkansas<\/h3>\n
              \n
            • *Jon S. Eubanks \u2014 Republican, House District 84 (expected to win)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              \u00a0Arizona<\/h3>\n

              Two of the six current Mormon members of the Arizona Senate, Sylvia Allen and Chuck Gray,\u00a0 are not running for re-election. One former Mormon, Krysten Sinema, resigned in January to seek a seat in the U.S. House.<\/p>\n

                \n
              • *Andy Biggs \u2014 Republican, Senate District 22 (unopposed)<\/li>\n
              • *Rich Crandall \u2014 Republican, Senate District 19<\/li>\n
              • *Adam Driggs \u2014 Republican, Senate District 11<\/li>\n
              • *Jerry Lewis \u2014 Republican, Senate District 18<\/li>\n
              • Bob Worsley \u2014 Republican, Senate District 25 (lost in the primary for the U.S. Senate–see above).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                Three of the eight current Mormon members of the Arizona House, Kirk Adams, Cecil Ash and Peggy Judd, are not seeking re-election.<\/p>\n

                  \n
                • *Eddie Farnsworth \u2014 Republican, House District 12<\/li>\n
                • *Tom Forese \u2014 Republican, House District 17<\/li>\n
                • *Justin Olson \u2014 Republican, House District 25<\/li>\n
                • *Justin Pierce \u2014Republican, House District 25<\/li>\n
                • *Steve Urie \u2014Republican, House District 22<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  California<\/h3>\n
                    \n
                  • Patricia McKeon \u2014 Republican, Assembly District 38 (lost in primary)<\/li>\n
                  • Derrick Roach \u2014 Republican, Assembly District 80 (expected to lose to the incumbent Democrat).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                    Colorado<\/h3>\n

                    The current Mormon in the Colorado Senate, Shawn Mitchell, may not seek re-election because of term limits.<\/p>\n

                      \n
                    • Will Hiltscher \u2014 Libertarian, House District 56<\/li>\n
                    • Hanna Kjerengtroen \u2014 Libertarian, House District 45<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                      Connecticut<\/h3>\n

                      The only Mormon in the Connecticut legislature, Democrat Marie Lopez Kirley-Bey in the House, is not seeking re-election.<\/p>\n

                      Georgia<\/h3>\n

                      The only Mormon in the Georgia House, Doreen Williams, lost her re-election bid in the Democratic primary.<\/p>\n

                      Hawaii<\/h3>\n

                      Senate:<\/p>\n

                        \n
                      • Liz Larson \u2014 Republican, Senate District 12<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                        House:<\/p>\n

                        The House races in Hawaii are interesting because they feature an unusual Mormon vs. Mormon battle outside of the Intermoutain West.<\/p>\n

                          \n
                        • *Danielle U. Beirne \u2014 Democrat, House District 47<\/li>\n
                        • Richard Fale \u2014 Republican, House District 47<\/li>\n
                        • Henry Vincent III \u2014 Republican, House District 51<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                          Idaho<\/h3>\n

                          Senate:<\/p>\n

                          Nine of the 35 members of the Idaho Senate appear to be Mormon. Just one of the nine (John Andreason) is not seeking re-election. Meanwhile two members of the Idaho House are looking to move to the Senate and two additional candidates are also seeking Senate seats.<\/p>\n

                            \n
                          • Terry Andersen \u2014 Republican, Senate District 29 (lost in primary)<\/li>\n
                          • *Steven Bair \u2014 Republican, Senate District 31<\/li>\n
                          • Cliff Bayer \u2014 Republican, Senate District 21<\/li>\n
                          • *Dean Cameron \u2014 Republican, Senate District 27 (unopposed)<\/li>\n
                          • *Bart Davis \u2014 Republican, Senate District 33 (unopposed)<\/li>\n
                          • *Lee Heider \u2014 Republican, Senate District 24<\/li>\n
                          • *Brent Hill \u2014 Republican, Senate District 34 (unopposed)<\/li>\n
                          • Fred Martin \u2014 Republican, Senate District 15<\/li>\n
                          • *Dean Mortimer \u2014 Republican, Senate District 30 (unopposed)<\/li>\n
                          • *Monty Pearce \u2014 Republican, Senate District 9<\/li>\n
                          • Kirsten Richardson \u2014 Independent, Senate District 8<\/li>\n
                          • Steven Thayne \u2014 Republican, Senate District 8<\/li>\n
                          • *John Tippets \u2014 Republican, Senate District 32 (unopposed)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                            House:<\/p>\n

                            19 of the 70 members of the Idaho House appear to be Mormon. Five are not running for re-election, two because they are now running for the Idaho Senate. But three additional Mormons are now running for the Idaho House.<\/p>\n

                              \n
                            • *Ken Andrus \u2014 Republican, House District 28<\/li>\n
                            • *Linden Bateman \u2014 Republican, House District 33<\/li>\n
                            • *Scott Bedke \u2014 Republican, House District 27 (unopposed)<\/li>\n
                            • *Maxine Bell \u2014 Republican, House District 25<\/li>\n
                            • *Gary Collins \u2014 Republican, House District 13 (unopposed)<\/li>\n
                            • Tom Dayley \u2014 Republican, House District 21<\/li>\n
                            • *Reed DeMordaunt \u2014 Republican, House District 14<\/li>\n
                            • *Julie Ellsworth \u2014 Republican, House District 18<\/li>\n
                            • Larry Larson \u2014 Democrat, House District 34<\/li>\n
                            • *Thomas Loertscher \u2014 Republican, House District 32<\/li>\n
                            • *Lynn Luker \u2014 Republican, House District 15<\/li>\n
                            • Travis Manning \u2014 Democrat, House District 10<\/li>\n
                            • *Mike Moyle \u2014 Republican, House District 14 (unopposed)<\/li>\n
                            • *Pete Nielsen \u2014 Republican, House District 23<\/li>\n
                            • Rex Rammell \u2014 Republican, House District 7 (lost in primary)<\/li>\n
                            • *Dell Raybould \u2014 Republican, House District 24<\/li>\n
                            • *Richard Wills \u2014 Republican, House District 23<\/li>\n
                            • *JoAn Wood \u2014 Republican, House District 35<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                              Indiana<\/h3>\n
                                \n
                              • Chuck Hockema \u2014 Republican, Indiana House District 27<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                Iowa<\/h3>\n
                                  \n
                                • *Ralph Watts \u2014 Republican, House District 19<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                  Kansas<\/h3>\n
                                    \n
                                  • *Jana Taylor Goodman \u2014 Republican, House District 41<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                    Because of redistricting, Goodman ended up in a district combined with that of a fellow female representative, a Democrat, who she is now facing in the general election.<\/p>\n

                                    Massachusetts<\/h3>\n
                                      \n
                                    • Paul Adams \u2014 Republican, 2nd Essex and Middlesex Senate District<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                      Also because of redistricting, Adams is seeking a Senate seat instead of re-election to his house seat, which was eliminated in the redistricting process.<\/p>\n

                                      Michigan<\/h3>\n
                                        \n
                                      • *Joel Johnson \u2014 Republican, House District 97<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                        Montana<\/h3>\n

                                        A Mormon currently in the Montana House, Representative Ken Peterson, is not seeking re-election.<\/p>\n

                                          \n
                                        • *Cary L. Smith \u2014 Republican, House District 55<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                          Nevada<\/h3>\n

                                          Senate:<\/p>\n

                                          Two Nevada State Senators who are Mormon, Mo Denis and J. P. Hardy, are in seats that don’t come up for re-election until 2014.<\/p>\n

                                            \n
                                          • Janine Hansen \u2014 American Independent, Senate District 19<\/li>\n
                                          • Justin Jones \u2014 Democrat, Senate District 9<\/li>\n
                                          • *John Jay Lee \u2014 Democrat, Senate District 1 (lost primary)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                            Assembly:<\/p>\n

                                              \n
                                            • *Ira Hansen \u2014 Republican, House District 32 (unopposed)<\/li>\n
                                            • Jonathan Hansen \u2014 American Independent, House District 4<\/li>\n
                                            • Brent Leavitt \u2014 Republican, Assembly Ditrict 7<\/li>\n
                                            • *Lynn Stewart \u2014 Republican, House District 22<\/li>\n
                                            • *Melissa Woodbury \u2014 Republican, House District 23<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                              New Hampshire<\/h3>\n
                                                \n
                                              • *Stella Tremblay \u2014 Republican, Rockingham District 4 (lost primary)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                                New Mexico<\/h3>\n
                                                  \n
                                                • *John Arthur Smith \u2014 Democrat, Senate District 35<\/li>\n
                                                • *Thomas Taylor \u2014 Republican, House District 1 (unopposed)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                                  Oregon<\/h3>\n
                                                    \n
                                                  • *Shawn Lindsay \u2014 Republican, House District 30<\/li>\n
                                                  • *Dennis Richardson \u2014 Republican, House District 4 (BYU Grad, claims is “non-Denominational Christian) (unopposed)<\/li>\n
                                                  • *Greg Smith \u2014 Republican, House District 57 (unopposed)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                                    South Carolina<\/h3>\n
                                                      \n
                                                    • Alan Delk Clemmons \u2014 Republican, House District 107<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                                      Washington<\/h3>\n

                                                      Senate:<\/p>\n

                                                      Neither of the two apparently Mormon politicians in the Senate, Pam Roach (R) and Paul Shinn (D) is up for re-election this year.<\/p>\n

                                                        \n
                                                      • Rae Lowery \u2014 Republican, Senate District 20 (lost in primary)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                                        House:<\/p>\n

                                                          \n
                                                        • *Tami Green \u2014 Democrat, House District 28-2<\/li>\n
                                                        • *Paul Harris \u2014 Republican, House District 17-2<\/li>\n
                                                        • Linda Knighton \u2014 Progressive, House District 36-2<\/li>\n
                                                        • Jim Thatcher \u2014 Republican, House District 45-2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                                          West Virginia<\/h3>\n
                                                            \n
                                                          • *Larry Kump \u2014 Republican, House District 59 (unopposed)<\/li>\n
                                                          • *Linda Sumner \u2014 Republican, House District 27<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                                            Wyoming<\/h3>\n

                                                            Senate:<\/p>\n

                                                            Two Mormons who are in the Wyoming Senate, Drew Perkins and Ray Peterson, are not up for re-election this year.<\/p>\n

                                                              \n
                                                            • *Stan Cooper \u2014 Republican, Senate District 14<\/li>\n
                                                            • *Dan Dockstader \u2014 Republican, Senate District 16<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                                              House:<\/p>\n

                                                              In the House, longtime Mormon politician Owen Petersen is not seeking re-election.<\/p>\n

                                                                \n
                                                              • *Joseph Barbuto \u2014 Democrat, House District 48<\/li>\n
                                                              • *Kathlen Davison \u2014 Republican, House District 18 (unopposed)<\/li>\n
                                                              • *Elaine Harvey \u2014 Republican, House District 26 (unopposed)<\/li>\n
                                                              • *Allen Jaggi \u2014 Republican, House District 19 (unopposed)<\/li>\n
                                                              • *Robert McKim \u2014 Republican, House District 21 (unopposed)<\/li>\n
                                                              • Garry Piiparinen \u2014 Republican, House District 49 (unopposed)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                                                .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                                                With the election approaching on Tuesday, I’ve been racing to put together a rundown of the candidates who are Mormon around the country.\u00a0 I know that Kay Atkinson King has done an extensive series on BCC going over the congressional elections, but I think that my summary below has a few additional pieces of information, including both state level elections and information on a few candidates who aren’t actually Mormon but who have significant Mormon connections or were once Mormon — a status that we will probably see more in the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":111,"featured_media":23159,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-politics"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/fale.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/111"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23147"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23165,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23147\/revisions\/23165"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}