Taking up a Mormon tithe collection...
That's just not the case.
In the 1850s, when Utah was still a territory, the fledgling Republican party said it would take on the "twin relics of barbarism" -- slavery and polygamy. And it did in the latter part of the 19th century...which, didn't make the Republicans popular among polygamist Utah.
So...when we look at the actual first Utah post-statehood election in 1896, what do we find?
In the first presidential contest held after achieving statehood in 1896, however, Utah Democrats did well, drawing more than eighty percent of the presidential vote for William Jennings Bryan and electing a variety of Democrats to state and local office as well. That same year, William H. King was elected to Congress and the Democratic legislature selected Joseph L. Rawlins to serve as U. S. Senator. Two years later, the Democrats elected B. H. Roberts to Congress although he was denied his seat because of his practice of plural marriage. Roberts was eventually replaced by William H. King in a special election held in April 1900.
Source: http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/d/DEMOCRATIC.html [Note: This link is now dead, so that's why I don't make it a live link anymore; but this was info at one time obtained from this source]
We know that in the Utah state Legislature assuming office that 39 in the Utah House of Reps in 1897 were Democrats, only 3 were Republicans & 3 were Populists. In the state Senate, it was a 17-0 shutout for the Democrats (plus one populist).
By 1900, the parties became balanced, and then the Democrats dropped off for a while in Utah as Republican’s Teddy Roosevelt’s ways carried the national day:
Utah Democrats were far less successful after 1900 -- But the Democrats rebounded with the help of the Progressive Party in 1914:
Per http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/d/DEMOCRATIC.html (now defunct):
In 1914, Utah Democrats allied with the Progressive party to take control of both houses of the Utah legislature as well as many county offices. Two years later, the Democrats scored a major victory garnering the state's electoral votes for Wilson, and electing Simon Bamberger as Governor, William H. King to the U.S. Senate and both representatives in Congress. The state legislature was overwhelmingly Democratic as well.
So I’d say my statement Do you realize that most Lds political leaders from the 19th century into the early 20th century were Democrats? was accurate, wouldn’t you MM – especially also considering that Democrats dominated in Utah throughout the 1930s?
Same source:
In the early 1930s, Utah Democrats, like their counterparts across the nation, emerged greatly strengthened by the candidacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Utah Governor Dern was selected by FDR to serve as Secretary of War in the first Roosevelt cabinet. In 1932, Elbert D. Thomas, a professor at the University of Utah, defeated Reed Smoot in a bitter contest and served in the Senate until he was defeated in a similarly bitter race in 1950. Moreover, a resurgent Democratic party paved the way for the emergence of the leading Utah Democrat of his generation -- Herbert B. Maw. Elected first to the state senate in 1928, Maw, an attorney and University of Utah professor, became the leader of the liberal, pro-FDR, wing of the party. In 1937, he was President of the Utah State Senate during one of the most liberal sessions in its history. This legislature passed bills dealing with relief and assistance and unemployment and enacted an open primary law that would strongly affect Democratic candidates. For the next decade, liberal forces dominated Utah's Democratic party, most notable Senator King, continued to hold office. In 1940, Maw was elected governor and was reelected four years later. In 1948, he ran for an unprecedented third term. As the result of scandals within his administration, and a weakened campaign organization, Maw was defeated by Utah political maverick J. Bracken Lee.
Even in the 1920s, Utah had a three-term Democratic senator (mentioned above) – Sen. King – who was re-elected in 1922 & 1928 due to internal divisions within the Utah GOP.
Do you realize that most Lds political leaders from the 19th century into the early 20th century were Democrats?
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But, they weren’t like today’s Democrats. Today’s Democratic Party started to hell in a hand-basket in 1964, under LBJ.