[Utah Republican Party] The early twentieth century was characterized by the rise of Mormon apostle and U.S. Senator Reed Smoot to political power; and his political alliance of Mormons and Gentiles led to a strengthened Republican party. During these same years, a number of LDS Church leaders, including John Henry Smith, Joseph F. Smith, Francis M. Lyman, and others would actively seek to tie the church to the Republican banner. By 1912 the GOP (Grand Old Party as the Republicans were nicknamed) was sufficiently strong to secure the state's votes for William Howard Taft, Utah being one of only two states to support the incumbent president's bid for reelection against Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt.
[Source: Utah History Encyclopedia: Utah Republican Party, http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/r/REPUBLICANS.html]
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