Now that a second Mormon has entered the 2012 presidential race, the question has been raised whether Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, Jr will split the Mormon vote.
The premise of that question assumes that members from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) would cast a vote solely based on a candidate's religion. The notion that Mormons would automatically vote for another Mormon candidate is just as insulting as the 22% of people in a Wall Street Journal poll who would not vote for a LDS candidate based solely on his faith.
While most members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints identify themselves as Republicans (Utah is the reddest state in the union), the truth is, Romney and Huntsman may not be conservative enough for many members of the LDS faith. Furthermore, like other religions, Mormons vary greatly in their political ideology - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, an ally of President Obama and a member of the LDS Church, is an example of how wide the political spectrum can be among members of the same faith.
As a member of the LDS Church, it would be wonderful to see a Mormon candidate overcome years of religious intolerance and persecution and ascend to the highest office in the country. However, I want the candidate to win or lose the election based on the issues and character - not his Mormon faith.
The premise of that question assumes that members from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) would cast a vote solely based on a candidate's religion. The notion that Mormons would automatically vote for another Mormon candidate is just as insulting as the 22% of people in a Wall Street Journal poll who would not vote for a LDS candidate based solely on his faith.
While most members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints identify themselves as Republicans (Utah is the reddest state in the union), the truth is, Romney and Huntsman may not be conservative enough for many members of the LDS faith. Furthermore, like other religions, Mormons vary greatly in their political ideology - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, an ally of President Obama and a member of the LDS Church, is an example of how wide the political spectrum can be among members of the same faith.
As a member of the LDS Church, it would be wonderful to see a Mormon candidate overcome years of religious intolerance and persecution and ascend to the highest office in the country. However, I want the candidate to win or lose the election based on the issues and character - not his Mormon faith.
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