Trib poll: GOP fine with Mormon prez; Dems not so much

Republicans are far more comfortable with a Mormon in the White House than Democrats or independents, according to a new Salt Lake Tribune national poll, which also found that polygamy is the most cited reason for those who have reservations.

Three-fifths of likely U.S. voters, or 60 percent, were "very comfortable" or "somewhat comfortable" voting for a Mormon for president, while 26 percent were uncomfortable to some degree and 14 percent were unsure.

Among Republicans, the comfort level shot up to 76 percent, with 14 percent uncomfortable, while 61 percent of independents were comfortable and 27 percent uncomfortable with the prospect of an LDS commander in chief.

Fewer than half of Democrats, 46 percent, were comfortable with a Mormon president, with 36 percent uncomfortable.

The poll also found that if respondents linked Mormons with a political party, it was almost always the GOP, though more than half said they were either unsure or felt most Latter-day Saints were largely unaffiliated.

Researchers say the results were likely affected by Mitt Romney?s presidential pursuit. A Mormon and former Republican governor of Massachusetts, Romney is well known nationally, partly because he also ran for president in 2007-08.

"They were not just thinking of a Mormon in an abstract, but for at least some of these people they are thinking specifically of Mitt Romney," said David Campbell, co-author of American Grace and a political scientist at the University of Notre Dame who studies religion and politics.

That may explain why Republicans are much more willing than Democrats to accept an LDS presidential candidate. But Campbell, who is a Mormon, noted that the Tribune poll and other surveys have all found somewhere between a quarter and a third of respondents were uncomfortable with a Mormon candidate, indicating "this is a real attitude we are tapping into."

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Romney faced opposition in his first presidential run from a vocal group of Baptist and evangelical Protestants, mainly in the South, who argued the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not Christian and, in some instances, called it a cult. Romney tried to quell the issue with a high-profile speech about his faith.

He has been much less likely to talk about the LDS Church in his current campaign, and the issue has appeared to lose steam, though some religious leaders and political operatives have made disparaging comments about the religion.

The Tribune poll shows that even 67 percent of white evangelicals were comfortable voting for a Mormon presidential candidate, and 25 percent were uncomfortable.

The survey, conducted Dec. 12-16 by Washington, D.C.-based Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

It found a higher comfort level than the September survey by the Public Religion Research Institute. That poll found 53 percent of Americans were comfortable with a Mormon president, while 42 percent were somewhat or very uncomfortable. The institute?s poll also found a much higher percent of white evangelicals (47 percent) who were uncomfortable with a Mormon in the Oval Office.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said the Tribune poll shows Romney?s Mormon issue will continue to fade.

"He paid the price the first time around," said Hatch, a Latter-day Saint and a Romney supporter. "[Voters] are now more familiar with him. I think they have gotten to know him. They realize he is a tremendous leader."

Tribune pollster Brad Coker didn?t go so far as to say the issue is dead, but he agreed that it is far less likely to doom Romney?s chances of becoming the GOP standard-bearer.

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Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/53169811-90/percent-mormon-poll-uncomfortable.html.csp

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