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SALT LAKE CITY — Seeing a rare opportunity for Democrats to make inroads in Utah, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton set up a campaign office Tuesday in Salt Lake City.

But a new poll shows Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has a wide lead over the former secretary of state, with help from Mormons.

Trump has opened paths for Clinton to secure the 270 electoral votes to become president, and maybe one of those paths runs through Utah, said Addisu Demissie, Hillary for America national voter outreach and mobilization director.

"When it comes to Utah, it's a dynamic race," he told KSL Newsradio's "The Doug Wright Show."

Clinton made a direct appeal to Utah voters and Mormons specifically earlier this month in an op-ed for the Deseret News. Bill Clinton attended a private fundraiser for his wife in Park City, and he met with Utah community and business leaders in Salt Lake City two weeks ago.

Earlier this year, NBC News moved Utah to "lean Republican," meaning the state is considered a competitive battleground in the presidential race.

And that's how it appears to be shaping up, even though Utahns haven't exactly embraced Trump.

The billionaire businessman recently acknowledged he has a "tremendous problem" in Utah, calling it a "different place." He also wrote a column for the Deseret News, saying earning the support and trust of the state's voters is a top priority.

A Public Policy Polling survey of 1,018 likely Utah voters released Tuesday shows Trump leading Clinton 39 percent to 24 percent, numbers similar to a recent UtahPolicy.com poll.

The North Carolina-based pollster also found Libertarian Gary Johnson with 12 percent, and Utah native and independent candidate Evan McMullin with 9 percent. The poll was conducted Aug. 19-21 and has a 3.1 percent margin of error.

"There’s not much of a chance that Utah’s actually going to go Democratic this year," according to Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling. "But with Gary Johnson in double digits and Evan McMullin almost there, there is a pretty decent chance that Donald Trump will end up winning the state with less than 50 percent of the vote."

Only 33 percent of Mormons see Trump favorably to 56 percent with an unfavorable opinion, according to the poll. But that still puts him in much better position with Mormons than Clinton, who came in at 12 percent favorable and 84 percent unfavorable.

Still, Trump gets 44 percent of the vote among Mormons, with McMullin running second at 13 percent. Clinton actually falls into a third-place tie with Johnson at 12 percent each among members of Utah's predominant religion.

Among non-Mormons in the state, Clinton leads Trump 46 percent to 30 percent, with Johnson at 11 percent.

A Democrat has not won Utah since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

The fact that Utah is even in play speaks to how divisive Trump is, said Walter Garcia, Democratic National Committee Western regional communications director.

But Garcia, who is in Utah talking to residents and canvassing for local Democratic candidates, said he's under no impression that Clinton will win.

"We might not win in November, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't at least try," he said. "It's a strongly Republican state and there's no changing that, so just based on that, (Trump) has a good shot of winning."

Demissie said the Clinton campaign will try to show Utah voters that the former secretary of state will fight for families and children, and that Trump is "temperamentally unfit" to be president.

"We have to make both of those cases," he said. "As long we get that message out, we have a chance to be competitive."

The Clinton office at 3310 S. 2700 East will organize activities to help elect Clinton and Democrats up and down the ballot in November. Organizers and volunteers will man phone banks, and organize meetings and canvasses at the office and in supporters' homes across the state.

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