Mitt's faith diminishing as issue?

LUTZ, Fla. — Mitt Romney's religion may be becoming less of an issue with voters — at least in Florida.

At a GOP debate in Fort Lauderdale this week, moderator Brian Williams, the NBC News anchor, said a new poll for NBC and the Wall Street Journal found that 44 percent of the voters questioned said a Mormon president would have a difficult time uniting the country.

But according to the poll, 49 percent of the 1,008 people interviewed said a Mormon — a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — would make "no difference either way" in their decision-making. The poll also found that 46 percent of those surveyed said an "evangelical Baptist preacher" would have a hard time uniting the country, with only 40 percent saying that the preacher would make no difference either way. GOP candidate Mike Huckabee is a former evangelical preacher. The margin of error of the poll of 1,008 Floridians is a plus or minus 3 percent.

Of those polled, 41 percent said they would be "comfortable" with a Mormon candidate and 29 percent "had some reservations." The poll's LDS-oriented questions did not ask anything about Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, by name but instead asked similar questions about candidates who might be a woman, an African-American, an evangelical preacher or a person over 70 — characteristics pertinent in one way or another to all of the current Republican and Democratic candidates.

Romney's membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been a topic of discussion since his campaign started.

Romney told Williams during the debate that Americans are not going to pick a president just based on what church a candidate attends.

And Romney's supporters of various faiths seem to agree.

Jose Casas, of St. Cloud, Fla., said religion shouldn't be a factor. "I know that he is a man of faith, and I do disagree, of course, with pretty much the doctrines of his denomination. But I think I am electing a president, I am not electing him to be the pastor of my church, and I am willing to support him regardless of his religion," said Casas, who is a Southern Baptist and described himself as an evangelical Christian.

He said he had no concerns that LDS Church leaders in Salt Lake City would be dictating to a Romney White House.

Judith Huffer, a Methodist from Crystal River, Fla., said it's not what a candidate's faith is but that he has faith and shares the same views on issues.