2 transgender Democrats nominated in Western GOP strongholds

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Democrats in some of the reddest pockets of the interior West have nominated transgender women for Congress, sending a message of inclusivity in races many consider unwinnable for the party.

Misty Snow was nominated Tuesday in Utah to challenge GOP U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, and Misty Plowright won a primary to challenge Republican Colorado Rep. Doug Lamborn in the state's most conservative congressional district.

"Yeah, I'm trans, but the simple fact of the matter is that a lot of people just don't care," said Plowright, 33, a first-time candidate who decided to run after attending Democratic presidential caucuses earlier this year and being inspired by the presidential campaign of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

[...] more than half of the state's 3 million residents belong to the conservative Mormon church, which opposes same-sex marriage and bans baptisms for people who have transgender operations.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' tone on LGBT issues has softened somewhat in recent years and the religion's leaders backed a statewide anti-discrimination law that protected gay and transgender people from discrimination in housing and the workplace.

In Colorado Springs, Democrat Shari Zabel said she got death threats for being a transgender candidate for the state legislature.