Why is Utah so red? (updated)

Both the Tribune and the Deseret News covered pollster Dan Jones' appearance on Sunday at the First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City.

Jones' topic was "Why Is Utah the Reddest State? And So What?" While I think Dan Jones does a competent job at polling, I didn't find most of his explanations very convincing. In a nutshell, they were:

1. Voters in Utah don't relate to Democrats at the national level.
2. Democrats have no clear policy on immigration.
3. Democrats haven't been able to pass a minimum-wage increase.
4. Democrats are perceived as pro-choice and pro–gay marriage.
5. Many LDS voters feel that Democrats don't represent their values.

Let's look at these in more detail.

1. True in Utah, but true for most other red states as well. Why would this affect Utah more than other red states?

2 and 3. If Dems did pass a minimum-wage increase or had a clear policy on immigration, would they suddenly become popular in Utah? Nope.

4 and 5. These are the key, I think. A majority of the state belongs to a very socially conservative religion. Utah's only competition for the title of Reddest State — Idaho — has the second-largest percent of Mormons after Utah. Republicans have learned how to flog cultural and moral issues in order to get elected, and that message resonates with social conservatives, likely even more so in states where there's something of a religious monoculture.

Utah and Idaho are the two reddest states and they also have the highest percentage of Mormons. Anyone who thinks the LDS influence isn't the main factor needs to explain why it isn't.

Update: Jeff Bell points out that the Utah Democratic Party already has a clear stance on immigration; it's in the state party platform (PDF file) and was written by the Hispanic Caucus.