Poll: Mormon enthusiasm high for Romney candidacy

Mitt Romney has at least one demographic group squarely in his corner headed into November: Mormons.

Some 77 percent of Utah Mormons said they are "very excited" or "somewhat excited" that Romney — himself a practicing member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — clinched the Republican nomination. And nearly as many say his primary victory is a positive development for the Mormon Church, according to a poll released Monday by Key Research and Brigham Young University’s Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy.

According to the Religion News Service, studies show that Utah Mormons generally hold the same political opinions as practitioners in other states.

But many in the Church are concerned the media will portray their faith unfairly, and an equal amount — 68 percent — say Romney's nomination will bring at least some bad publicity for Mormonism.

A Gallup poll released earlier in the month showed that registered Mormon voters overwhelmingly favored Romney. Some 84 percent of Mormons surveyed in that poll said they would vote for Romney, versus just 13 percent for President Obama. That's a marked improvement over Republicans' already dominant numbers among Mormon voters; in 2008, John McCain pulled 75 percent of the Mormon vote, versus 19 percent for Obama.

But a separate Gallup poll released last week found that Romney's faith could keep some voters at home. According to the survey, 18 percent of respondents said they would not vote for a Mormon.

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