Re Voting for a Mormon, Then Again...
This week's LA Times/Bloomberg poll, which reported that 37 percent of Americans surveyed would not vote for a Mormon for president, has created a flurry of activity in the blogosphere. Some have said that the Times-Bloomberg numbers probably understate Americans' true sentiments. Others have tried to dismiss the opposition as just liberal Democrats who are at odds with the Mormon views on abortion and gay rights.
The latter is an interesting argument. But digging deeper into the numbers provided by the LA Times and Bloomberg shows that the anti-Mormon sentiment is not merely confined to Democrats.
Granted, 42 percent of Democrats said they wouldn't vote for a Mormon, but so did 34 percent of Republicans and a third of Independents. Feelings are stronger at the more extreme wings of the party. Half of self-described liberal Democrats wouldn't back a Mormon, but neither would 35 percent of conservative Republicans.
The resistance was more pronounced among minorities (51 percent) and spread fairly evenly across age groups and genders. College grads and upper incomes were slightly more willing to vote for President Mormon.
Geographically, the strongest opposition was in the Midwest, not the South. Forty percent of those in the Midwest would not vote for an LDS candidate, compared to 38 percent in the South. There was somewhat surprisingly opposition in the West, considering a comparably larger Mormon population, with 35 percent opposing a Mormon candidate and 32 percent opposition in the East.
The national poll consisted of 1,321 interviews and had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
So what's it all mean? Well, the most immediate impact obviously could be felt by Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who has been laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign. The poll would indicate that he not only has his work cut out nationally, but also among Republican voters. But this columnist from the Boston Herald believes that Romney can overcome the issue and actually make religion a slight positive.
No question though, there remains an elephant in the room when Romney speaks, and it's not just the GOP mascot.
-- Robert Gehrke
The latter is an interesting argument. But digging deeper into the numbers provided by the LA Times and Bloomberg shows that the anti-Mormon sentiment is not merely confined to Democrats.
Granted, 42 percent of Democrats said they wouldn't vote for a Mormon, but so did 34 percent of Republicans and a third of Independents. Feelings are stronger at the more extreme wings of the party. Half of self-described liberal Democrats wouldn't back a Mormon, but neither would 35 percent of conservative Republicans.
The resistance was more pronounced among minorities (51 percent) and spread fairly evenly across age groups and genders. College grads and upper incomes were slightly more willing to vote for President Mormon.
Geographically, the strongest opposition was in the Midwest, not the South. Forty percent of those in the Midwest would not vote for an LDS candidate, compared to 38 percent in the South. There was somewhat surprisingly opposition in the West, considering a comparably larger Mormon population, with 35 percent opposing a Mormon candidate and 32 percent opposition in the East.
The national poll consisted of 1,321 interviews and had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
So what's it all mean? Well, the most immediate impact obviously could be felt by Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who has been laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign. The poll would indicate that he not only has his work cut out nationally, but also among Republican voters. But this columnist from the Boston Herald believes that Romney can overcome the issue and actually make religion a slight positive.
No question though, there remains an elephant in the room when Romney speaks, and it's not just the GOP mascot.
-- Robert Gehrke
12:48 PM
| 
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home