Bush met with church president Gordon Hinckley in Salt Lake City in September, but that hasn’t stopped a shift in Mormon loyalties—just as the polls have moved among Christian conservatives across the country. According to veteran Utah pollster Dan Jones, support for Cheney among “very active” Mormons is down to 69 percent, while 49 percent of “somewhat active” Mormons support him. Like Bush’s, Cheney’s approval rating is down 15 to 20 points across the state over the past two years. Jones puts Cheney’s decline down to the CIA leak case, while BYU Democrats point to the war in Iraq. Cheney’s press secretary Lea Anne McBride says the veep’s speech will focus on the graduates, not partisan politics.
