This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
President-elect Donald Trump plans to visit Utah sometime before his inauguration to thank the state for its support.
Utah Republican Party Chairman James Evans confirmed Wednesday that Trump is planning the trip and has been working with local officials.
"At this point, there is no information to divulge publicly. I can just say that it's being planned," Evans said. "We'll defer to the Trump team to announce details when it is ready."
Trump plans to begin a victory tour this week, which his campaign calls a "thank you" tour, to the 30 states that voted for him in the election.
The New York Times reports that it will begin with a visit to Cincinnati on Thursday, with a second stop scheduled in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday.
Politico reported that Trump wants to revisit the states he won to re-energize his base of supporters.
Trump carried Utah with 45.5 percent of the vote, compared with 27.5 percent for Democrat Hillary Clinton and 21.5 percent for independent Evan McMullin.
He won a plurality of 515,231 votes in Utah, compared with 310,676 for Clinton — a difference of more than 200,000. That allowed him to claim Utah's six Electoral College votes in the winner-take-all general election.
Still, Trump has not been popular in Utah, achieving a percentage of votes far behind that of previous Republican nominees.
He finished third during the GOP March caucus vote, behind Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Some leading Utah Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Mia Love, refused to support Trump after a video showed him bragging about forcing himself on women. Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox had been a stalwart critic of Trump, and Sen. Mike Lee voted for McMullin.
Others criticized him, but eventually said they voted for him, including Gov. Gary Herbert, Sen. Orrin Hatch and Reps. Jason Chaffetz and Chris Stewart (who once called Trump "our Mussolini").
Also after Trump proposed a registry of Muslims, the LDS Church posted statements on its website urging protection of religious freedom. The church is "neutral in regard to party politics and election campaigns," it said on its website, but "it is not neutral in relation to religious freedom."