Arizona
How Mormons could be Kamala Harris’ secret weapon in Arizona
Traditionally conservative members of the Church of Latter-day Saints in Arizona are being turned off from former President Donald Trump, in part because of his language around immigrants.
With around 400,000 Mormons in the battleground state — roughly 6 percent of its population — both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have sought to win them over in the hope of securing Arizona’s 11 Electoral College votes, but the key issue of immigration has become divisive.
Tyler Montague, a political consultant with the Public Integrity Alliance and a LDS member, told Newsweek that while many members of the church will vote for Trump, a growing number will either leave their presidential vote blank or swing all the way to Harris.
Jon G. Fuller / VWPics via AP Images
He pointed to LDS’ immigrant-friendly attitude, highlighted by the missionary programs many young Mormons take part in.
“A lot of them are in Latin America, a lot in Africa, Asia, so you have people exposed to these other cultures and other languages and they develop understanding and empathy,” Montague said. “So, you have a group that’s sympathetic toward immigrants, legal or otherwise.”
A growing discomfort around Trump’s immigration rhetoric
The Arizonan said that Trump’s rhetoric on immigration – promising mass deportations and characterizing migrants as criminals or those stealing jobs – did not sit well with those who had connections to countries where immigrants were from, or who worked and lived alongside them in their communities.
OLIVIER TOURON/AFP via Getty Images
The Harris campaign has sought to tread a line between tightening border security, while also avoiding demonizing migrants writ large.
The LDS community in Arizona has voiced its opposition to anti-immigrant legislation in the past, including legislation in 2010 known as the “show me your papers” bill, which the church rejected parts around enforcement.
Some Evangelical Christians have also expressed discomfort around the lack of empathy for refugees and immigrants within the GOP, as Newsweek reported earlier in October, though the voting bloc is still expected to go for Trump by wide margins.
Are Mormons switching to Harris?
Montague told Newsweek that discomfort is going to matter among a group that sees voting as its civic duty, which could swing results in a state which was decided on around 10,000 votes in 2020.
“It’s not just the immigration issue. The culture of the church, the culture of Christ-like service-style leadership is just in contrast with the braggadocio style of Donald Trump,” Montague said. “That’s off-putting.
“The thing that keeps people in his camp, there are plenty of people that don’t like him, but they’re turned off by the abortion issue, which Kamala Harris is touting.”
ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images
Mormon support across the U.S. for Republican candidates has dropped in recent decades, according to the Pew Research Center in 2016, with George W. Bush receiving 80 percent support in 2004, compared to 61 percent for Trump in 2016.
That does not mean those votes are automatically going to the Democratic Party, though, with some feeling issues like abortion leave them with no viable presidential candidate.
Montague pointed to high-profile LDS members who could sway members of the church, including Mitt Romney, the senator from Utah who ran against Barack Obama in 2012, and former Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers. Both Romney and Bowers have openly voiced their opposition to Trump.
An
Maricopa County, Ariz., asked the court to affirm its determination that the location was a 30-auditorium mixed used movie theater worth nearly $29 million in full cash value and $12.5 million in limited value.
However, AMC’s expert appraiser didn’t err when he limited the property’s valuation to the 17 auditoriums the theater currently uses to show films, the court determined in an unsigned opinion posted Tuesday. …
The Week 7 matchup between K-State and Arizona State will feature two of the youngest coaches in all of college football: Kenny Dillingham and Collin Klein. They are tied for the youngest in the Power 4 conferences, and only Kirby Moore of Washington State (35) and Zach Kittley (34) are younger Division I coaches.
While Dillingham didn’t play football at Arizona State, like Klein, he is at his alma mater. An injury in his high senior year forced him to stop playing and get into coaching. He became the offensive coordinator at Chaparral High School at 21 years old, and was hired just two years later by Mike Norvell as an offensive analyst at Arizona State. He went back to Tempe in 2023, after spending the previous season as the offensive coordinator at Oregon.
Both of these guys are looking to lead their alma maters to a Big 12 Championship, and this is one of those games that could be pivotal in that pursuit.
K-State Early Opponent Preview Series: Nicholls| Washington State| Tulane| Cincinnati| Houston| Kansas
Offense
Quarterback Sam Leavitt wasn’t able to live up to the hype after leading the Sun Devils to the Big 12 Championship in 2024, and he announced he was transferring to LSU during the off-season. Dillingham and his staff were quick to fill the vacany, as they picked up former Kentucky quarterback Cutter Boley in the transfer portal.
Boley was the highest-rated quarterback to ever commit to Kentucky, as he was a consensus 4-star recruit. He had an up-and-down freshman year in 2025, as he threw for 2,160 yards, 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. In a loss to Tennessee, he showed off the talent by throwing for 330 yards and five touchdowns.
The offense lost two great playmakers in Kaleek Brown and Jordan Tyson. Brown was one of the best running backs in the Big 12, as he rushed for 1,141 yards and 4 touchdowns. Tyson had to deal with injuries, but he still had 61 catches for 788 yards and eight touchdowns and ended up going No. 9 to the New Orleans Saints in the 2026 NFL Draft.
One guy who could make a strong impact in the Arizona State offense is Boston College transfer Reed Harris. He had 39 catches for 673 yards and five touchdowns. He is a matchup nightmare, as he towers over defensive backs with his 6-foot-5 frame. He plays a style similar to Tyson, and he stands three inches taller and 17 pounds heavier.
Defense
There are a lot of changes on the defense at Arizona State, but defensive lineman C.J. Fites is a player who is capable of being an anchor on a defense. He took a major leap last season, finishing the year with 27 tackles and 6.5 sacks. He was named a preseason All-Big 12 defensive tackle and is a guy who figures to hear his name in the 2027 NFL Draft. Fite’s presence will force offenses to throw double-teams at him, and should open up opportunities for others to get after the quarterback.
The two leading tacklers last year were linebackers Jordan Crook and Keyshaun Elliott, who had 101 and 98 tackles, respectively. With both of these players gone, Martell Hughes is a guy who the Sun Devils will need to step up.
While there were losses in the off-season, the Sun Devils’ secondary has a chance to be one of the better units in the country. They bring back two very talented safeties in Adrian Wilson and Jessiah McGrew. The cornerback duo of Rodney Bimage Jr. and Montana Warren was good, but the arrival of LSU transfer Ashton Stamps.
He made major news last year after he hit the transfer portal after playing in only one game against Louisiana Tech. While it was a weird year, he is the type of talent that could give the Sun Devils the best secondary in the Big 12.
Schedule
In today’s college football, many teams are becoming hesitant to take big challenges during the non-conference season. However, that isn’t the case with the Sun Devils, as they go to College Station to take on Texas A&M in Week 2. After that game, the schedule lightens up. Including the matchup against K-State, four of Arizona State’s next five games will be at home.
The challenging part of the Sun Devils’ conference schedule is that some of their toughest matchups are on the road. They have road trips at Texas Tech, BYU, and Arizona, who are looked at as contenders in the Big 12.
Outlook
Dillingham has been outstanding early in his tenure in Tempe. After going 3-9 in his first year in 2023, he helped lead the Sun Devils to an 11-2 record and an appearance in the College Football Playoff during the 2024 season. Last year, they finished the year 8-5, despite losing quarterback Sam Leavitt early in the year.
The Big 12 is wide-open, and the Sun Devils once again to have the pieces to compete for a spot in the conference championship.
Game Info
Date: Saturday, October, 24
Time: TBD
TV: TBD
Location: Mountain America Stadium
Series history: Arizona State leads the all-time series, 6-1. The Sun Devils have dominated this series, and won the most recent game 24-14 in 2024. The only time the Wildcats have knocked off Arizona State was in the 2002 Holiday Bowl.
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Sanjay Suchak
Two Arizona Public Enemy concerts in one year? As Chuck D. might say, bring the noise.
After a searing set in February at Tempe’s Innings Festival, the legendary hip-hop group will return to metro Phoenix on Saturday, Oct. 24, to perform as part of the Arizona State Fair’s concert series.
The concert starts at 7 p.m. inside the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum with no opening act.
Public Enemy joins a growing lineup of artists set to perform at the 2026 Arizona State Fair, which runs weekends from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1.
Previously announced Coliseum Concert Series performers include alt-rockers Gin Blossoms on Friday, Oct. 2, R&B/pop star Becky G on Friday, Oct. 9 and punk favorites The Offspring on Friday Oct. 16.
Few hip-hop acts are as iconic as Public Enemy. Fronted by Chuck D. and Flavor Flav, the group has performed since the early ‘80s and has spent decades mixing politically charged lyrics with fierce bests on classic tracks like “Fight the Power,” “Bring the Noise” and “Welcome to the Terrordome.”
Public Enemy’s upcoming concert marks the first time the iconic hip-hop act has performed at the Arizona State Fair and their latest in a series of Valley gigs. It also continues a decades-long history of Valley performances.
Over the years, Public Enemy has played venues large and small across metro Phoenix, from arenas and stadium shows to concert halls Tempe’s Marquee Theatre. The group also famously staged an impromptu performance at the long-running local hip-hop event The Blunt Club back in 2006.
When do Arizona State Fair concert tickets go on sale?
Tickets for Gin Blossoms and Russell Dickerson are already available through azstatefair.com/concerts.
Tickets for Public Enemy at the fair go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday through azstatefair.com/concerts. A presale for subscribers to the Fair Fandom newsletter begins at 10 a.m. on Thursday.
Reserved-seat upgrades are available for all four concerts. Each concert ticket also includes admission to the Arizona State Fair.
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