Mormons in Congress not flocking to Romney's side
4 of 16 have endorsed him in presidential race
It is widely assumed that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will overwhelmingly support Romney, but an informal survey of Mormons in Congress shows that's not the case.
Sixteen LDS members in Congress consist of five senators, 10 House members and one delegate. Four of them are Democrats, so it is unlikely they would endorse Romney, but of the 12 Republican LDS members, only four are actively endorsing Romney at this stage of the game.
At least two LDS lawmakers are supporting Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and the remaining six are not endorsing anyone yet.
An Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Tuesday found that nearly a quarter of Republicans nationwide are unwilling as yet to back Romney, McCain, Rudy Giuliani or Fred Thompson, who has not officially declared whether he is running for president.
White House race rankings made by National Journal, a political magazine, also show no clear front-runner. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who also led the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, is tied for second place with Giuliani, the former New York City mayor.
But Romney does have his share of supporters in Congress, including two of Utah's four Republican members.
GOP Sens. Bob Bennett and Orrin Hatch, both from Utah, are Romney's cheerleaders in the Senate. Bennett serves as a Senate liaison for Romney's campaign, along with co-chairman Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho.
Craig is not LDS, but Idaho has a large LDS population. Meanwhile, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, who is LDS, has not endorsed anybody, according to his office.
Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., is often used as an example of a prominent LDS member who is not supporting Romney's campaign. He is working for McCain.
Smith, in an interview, said McCain asked him four years ago to support him, back when Romney was still governor of Massachusetts, and Smith said he keeps his word.
"You will never hear me say anything bad about Mitt," he said, but "I think my support of John McCain is principled."
He said McCain has dedicated his life to serving this country, and "as president, he won't need any on-the-job training."
The religion-based questions Romney often receives from the media are fair, Smith said, but in Oregon politics he hasn't had to answer questions on his faith.
"In Oregon, people don't care where or if or how you pray," Smith said.
Hatch, who ran for president himself in 2000, formally endorsed Romney in March.
Recent comments
I can't help but wonder which would be the bigger story - LDS...
Jack Brinkerhoff | Jan. 23, 2008 at 1:01 p.m.
Romney has shown great leadership and business sense, which is...
Maury Jones | Jan. 13, 2008 at 9:29 a.m.
He is not going to be able to count on most of the LDS hispanic...
Marco Zamboni | Aug. 21, 2007 at 10:40 a.m.
- Odd Fellows Hall move 6:13 p.m.
- Man charged in child sexual assault 5:43 p.m.
- Jazz in back of line for free agents 5:36 p.m.
- Dining out: Ruth's Diner 5:04 p.m.
- Tactfully bring up plastic surgery 5:04 p.m.
- Malden's craft made good movies 5:04 p.m.
- Megan Joy looks forward to Utah 5:04 p.m.
- Movie listings 5:04 p.m.
- Box office 5:04 p.m.
- Weekend calendar 5:04 p.m.
- Blazers may offer Millsap a contract
- Utah's top 10: Wealth of recreation
- MWC, WAC rushed into BCS
- Restaurant burns in 3-alarm fire
- O'Connor unhappy Fes not with team
- Send Boozer to the Bulls?
- Keeping golf light on the wallet
- Teen injured in fall from waterfall
- Fatigued Jazz no match for Pacers
- River flow marks birth of sanctuary
- Bronco collecting a galaxy of recruits
138 - Letters: Palin mistreated
136 - Teachers struggle with district cuts
134 - Blazers may offer Millsap a contract
117 - 'Tea party' protesters unhappy
107 - Fairness of BCS debated
81 - Stadium of Fire lights up the 4th
79 - Chaffetz eyes challenging Bennett
72 - Millsap not franchise player
70 - Services bids farewell to Jackson
70
As more and more dads are put out of work in this economy, I've been...
The night was balmy though buggy at SPOC, the Stansbury Park Observatory...
No conservatives writing about missile "Kumbaya?" Tell us how weak Obama is...
The number of cosponsors is up to 250. Sorry for the mistake.
Enlighten us, what else does this bill do? Whether or not these...
it happened from 1pm - 3pm
An ancient proverb states: he that giveth to the rich shall surely come to...
Not politically correct and also pretty ignorant, but I've come to expect...
9:23 a.m Paul Krugman disagrees with you. When he advocated for the creation...
More greed for more entitlements! Who will pay for this greed? Our...
Thomas is great shot blocker. I love his intensity and determination in every...
American Legion has some great talent, dont take anything away from them...

