Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney addresses the Faith and Freedom Coalition June 3, 2011 in Washington, DC. The Faith and Freedom Coalition is holding their second annual conference and strategy briefing over two days in the nation's capital.
A new poll conducted by the Pew Research Center indicates that a significant segment of voters would still be less likely to vote for a Mormon candidate in the 2012 presidential election.
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Simultaneously, response shows that voters would be much more accepting of a homosexual candidate than they were four years ago.
A clear majority (68 percent) of Americans say they would not be more or less likely to vote for a presidential candidate if that candidate was Mormon. However, a quarter (25 percent) say they would be less likely to vote for a Mormon candidate while only five percent say they would be more likely.
A further breakdown of these responses shows limited variation based on party affiliation. Democrats show the greatest negative response with 31 percent saying they would be less likely to support a Mormon, while Republicans and Independents fall at 23 percent and 20 percent respectively.
A greater distinction is revealed when respondents are sorted by their own religious affiliation. The greatest rate of negative response comes from white evangelicals with 34 percent saying they would be less likely to support a candidate who was Mormon. Meanwhile, only 16 percent of white Catholics say the same.
These response trends are confirmed when applied to former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney. Of those voters saying that they would be less likely to vote for a Mormon candidate, 63 percent say there would be no chance that would vote for Romney. No specific analysis was provided for the other prominent Mormon in the race for the GOP nomination, Jon Huntsman.
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SOURCE: The Huffington Post
