Donald Trump may be losing ground in Utah, according to a new poll that was conducted after the release of the tape in which the Republican presidential nominee boasts about sexually assaulting women.
The Y2 Analytics poll finds Trump tied with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton at 26 percent. Independent candidate Evan McMullin, who has been considered a long-shot candidate, trails close behind with 22 percent. Libertarian Gary Johnson takes 14 percent in the poll.
Prior to the poll, Trump was averaging 45 percent and Clinton 27 percent in the largely Mormon state, according to the HuffPost Pollster aggregate of publicly released polls.
The last time Utah voted for a Democratic candidate was in 1964, when Lyndon B. Johnson won.
This is the first and so far only poll released in Utah that was conducted after the Access Hollywood tape surfaced, and thus should be taken with some caution.
But it could signify a real shift in the race. Earlier this week, Utah Republican leaders launched “an all-out revolt” against Trump, as one Brigham Young University professor called it. Several state officials, including Gov. Gary Herbert (R), rescinded their support for Trump, citing the crude video.
Utah’s oldest daily newspaper, Deseret News, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, published an op-ed calling for Trump to drop out of the race just one day after the video surfaced. The paper’s editor and publisher clarified, however, that LDS church leaders had nothing to do with the editorial piece.
On Wednesday, The Salt Lake Tribune officially endorsed Clinton, calling her “the only candidate who comes close to being qualified and fit for the post.”
The HuffPost Pollster election forecast model predicts a 9 percent chance that Trump will win the presidential race and a 90.8 chance Clinton will.
The Y2 Analytics poll surveyed 500 likely Utah voters and was conducted using live interviewers to landlines and cell phones on Oct. 10-11.
This piece has been updated to include the Deseret News editorial.
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