Franklin is in the southeast corner of the state, on the Utah border, and it stands out for two reasons: (1) According to ARDA, it is the most Mormon county in the nation, with over 91 percent of residents belonging to the LDS Church; (2) Its politics are terrifying.
First, some background. Home to just over 12,000 people, the biggest town is Preston, with fewer than 5,000 living there. The county is 95 percent white; 35 percent claim English ancestry, 15 percent "American," 9 percent Danish, 9 percent German, and 5 percent Latino- really, a great microcosm of Mormon demographics (also fitting the pattern, 0.1 percent of Franklinites are black).
The county is known for two things, and they are also appropriate. It is the birthplace of Ezra Taft Benson, Eisenhower's Agriculture Secretary, member of the John Birch Society, and eventual president of the LDS Church. In 1963, he alleged that the civil rights movement was "fomented almost entirely by the Communists."
Second, Napoleon Dynamite was filmed in Preston, and the movie's creators reside there. Banking on this dubious honor, the town now holds an annual "Napoleon Dynamite Festival"- celebrating what is, most charitably, a gentle satire of the community.
Franklin first came to my attention because it gave Mr. Bo Gritz his best showing in the nation in 1992. results since then:
1992:
Bush 52%,
Perot 22%,
Clinton 13%,
Gritz 12% [Clinton beat the combined minor candidates 524-521]
1996:
Dole 63%,
Clinton 21%,
Perot 15%2000:
Bush 85%,
Gore 12%,
Buchanan 2%2004:
Bush 90%,
Kerry 9%,
Peroutka 1%2008:
McCain 84%,
Obama 12%,
Baldwin 3% [Baldwin's fourth-best showing nationally]
The last Democrat it voted for was Franklin Roosevelt in 1944; even Goldwater broke 60 percent here.
anyway, just goes to show what shenanigans Mormons get up to when they have their own little kingdom.
