his Hilter-ish ravings about Muslims don't sit well.
Among the Mormons I know, this is the biggest issue. There's a "first they came for the Muslims, then they'll come for us" type mindset going on.
Bingo. Considering Mormons are the only religion in the United States that had an Extermination Order levied against us, we're very, very wary of people proposing state sanctioned religious oppression or discrimination. We tend to feel some similarities with American Muslims, and we know that we could be next.
And that's only compounded by Trump being an arrogant, sleazy, bad-mouthed, heartless, adulterer and greedy, and xenophobic demagogue. He gives off a sense of feeling accountable to no one, not even God.
Plus, we have a growing Hispanic Mormon population, and are more and more liberal on immigration these days. Heck, we've had illegal immigrant bishops (who in the Mormon vocabulary are just the leaders of one congregation) deported, and raised a fuss about their deportation.
Oh, and we tend to prefer politicians who are polite, at least seem reasonable, and who don't insult or attack their opponents.
So Trump is honestly the worst fit possible for Mormons, and thus the majority of Utah voters. His persona and campaign are ridiculously unpleasant for Mormons. We preferred Cruz because he at least seemed religious and honest (to conservative Utahns), and most Utahns weren't aware of the darker rumors about him.
I'm a liberal Mormon Democrat, so I'm disgusted by most of the Republicans who ran this year, but even so, Trump was as terrifying to me as he is to the more conservative Utahns.
