2016 United States presidential election in Utah
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The 2016 United States presidential election in Utah was held on November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 United States presidential election which was also held in the other 49 states and in the District of Columbia. Voters were asked to pick 6 electors to be pledged for a candidate in the Electoral College. The two main tickets of the election were the Republican one, consisting of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana Governor Mike Pence, and the Democratic one, consisting of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Virginia Senator Tim Kaine. On March 22, 2016, in the presidential primaries, Utah voters expressed their preferences for the Democratic and Republican parties' respective nominees for president. The state uses a system of semi-closed primaries, meaning that voters registered with a specific party can vote in that party's primary, while voters who are unaffiliated can vote in the primary of one party of their choosing. Utah was won by Trump, who won the state with 45 percent of the vote, the lowest percentage for any Republican since George H. W. Bush in 1992 and the lowest winning percentage for any presidential candidate since both Bill Clinton and Bob Dole in 1996. Clinton received 27 percent of the vote, and Republican-turned-independent candidate Evan McMullin received 21 percent. Trump's 18 point margin was the closest a Democrat has come to winning Utah since 1964, when Lyndon B. Johnson won by 9 %. This is the worst performance in Utah by a Republican since 1964 by margin of victory. Although he never lost the state, Trump never won over 60% of the vote in Utah in any of his three runs, greatly below all other 21st century Republican candidates. This was due to McMullin's strong third-party showing limiting Trump to under 50% of the vote; Clinton received a smaller percentage of the popular vote than five other Democrats in this same time period (Barack Obama in 2008, Bill Clinton in 1996, Michael Dukakis in 1988, Jimmy Carter in 1976, and Hubert Humphrey in 1968). This was one of only three states, the others being Idaho and Vermont, where the Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson did not obtain third place, as McMullin beat him in Idaho and Utah, and write-in votes for Bernie Sanders (who was no longer running for president) beat him in Vermont. Trump also became the first Republican to win the White House without carrying Salt Lake or Summit Counties since William McKinley in 1896 and 1900, respectively. The state was one of 11 (along with the District of Columbia) that shifted towards the Democrats in the 2016 election.