Utah Democratic Party Chair Brian King says he doesn’t believe the strategy of Democrats registering as Republicans in order to mitigate the GOP in Utah is effective, so he is calling on these Democrats to “come home.”
For years it’s been known that many Democrats in Utah have registered as Republicans in order to participate in closed primaries, but King now says that this strategy of moderating the GOP from within is no longer effective.
The theory behind this strategy is essentially that because Utah is so overwhelmingly Republican, in many races, whoever the GOP nominates will most likely win. So the thinking is that the only way for Democrats to have an influence on elections is to register as a Republican and vote in their primary elections, possibly giving a boost to a more moderate candidate over a more conservative Republican candidate.
Why Brian King wants to put an end to this strategy
“We all know many Democrats who register as Republicans to try to mitigate the harshness and extremity of the majority party. I understand the temptation,” said King, per a release from the party.
“But I grow more convinced that if that was ever effective, it no longer is. Even relatively moderate and principled Republicans, with few exceptions, end up enabling and facilitating Trump and his allies’ authoritarian efforts. Having some input at Republican caucuses, conventions and primaries simply is not stemming the tide.”
King said that Democrats registering as Republicans actually weakens the party’s legitimacy and strength. When they’re registered as Republicans then the Democratic Party isn’t able to know how many Democrats there actually are and they aren’t able to track them, know who they are or what they really think or believe.
“Republicans point to registration numbers as justification to ignore Utahns who disagree with them,” the party chair added. “It’s time to take that excuse away. If we want to stand up for Utah values, protect our democracy and deliver common-sense solutions, we need Democrats to be loud, proud and united in our own ranks.”
He also added that Democrats are committed to practical, people-first solutions and accused Republican elected officials of becoming a monolith that is pushing “lies, extremism, and authoritarian ideas.”
King told the Deseret News that this message came from frustration of seeing how today’s Republican Party has been “completely captured by Donald Trump.”
“I don’t really think,that there has been a lot of mitigation of the most sharp and extreme elements of the Republican Party by having Democrats cross over and register as Republicans,” he added.
He said that these Democrats that are registered as Republicans are actually accomplishing very little in terms of mitigating the “bad” Republican policies or candidates.
How Brian King wants to move forward as the Democratic Party in Utah
As the leader of the party in the state King believes “we need to do something different. We need to take action in a way that will cause folks to have a likelihood of greater success in the future than we’ve had in the past here in Utah.”
He also said that with more unity in the party there can be more strength which can lead to making change, so he called on all Democrats in the state to join together.
“The only meaningful way forward to build strength within the party is to join with us, to organize, to help us recruit great Democratic candidates, help us go out and talk to Utahns about why we’re the party with the most aligned priorities and values to the rest of Utah.”
If the Democrats gather together they can work to have good Democrat candidates that can step up and get elected. King hopes these “good” Democratic candidates can attract the votes of disaffected Republicans, independent and moderate voters who are put off by “today’s Republican Party.”
“Coming home means being loyal and true to the values that you really believe in but it ain’t today’s Republican Party.”