June 2012 Gallup Poll Shows 84 Percent Of American Mormon Voters Support Mitt Romney

Despite the official statement of political neutrality by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a Gallup poll released on June 8th, 2012 indicates overwhelming support for Mitt Romney by American Mormon voters. The same poll also indicates that politically, Mormons in America remain predominantly Republican or Republican-oriented.

The results are based on telephone interviews conducted as part of Gallup Daily tracking from April 11 - June 5, 2012, with a random sample of 24,181 registered voters, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Of these respondents, 524 identified themselves as Mormons. And here's what Gallup found out:

-- 84 percent of the LDS respondents said they would vote for Mitt Romney, compared with only 13 percent who prefer Barack Obama. Among all respondents combined, 46 percent would vote for Romney.

-- Gallup Daily Tracking from January 2011 - May 2012 shows 70 percent of Mormons identifying as Republicans or leaning to the Republican Party, and 19 percent identifying as or leaning Democratic. Since Utah has been known to vote Democratic in past presidential elections, this implies that the Democratic Party changed to become less palatable to LDS members. The Democratic Party no longer provides a welcoming environment to those who are pro-market, pro-life, or who support the traditional definition of family or marriage.

But considering that Mormons only constitute two percent of America's population, the Mormon vote alone can't put Romney over the top. The same Gallup poll shows Romney has not effectively connected with Jewish voters; 64 percent of Jews support Obama while only 29 percent support Romney. And a Latino Decisions national poll released on June 8th shows Obama with a 43-point margin over Romney among Latino voters. Blacks are also expected to vote for Obama in large numbers.

So does Mitt Romney waste time and resources trying to get Jewish, Latino, and Black votes that are unattainable, or does he direct those efforts towards firming up his core constituencies? Putting Marco Rubio or Rick Santorum on the ticket might not be helpful. But one group of committed voters remains to be wooed; the Ron Paul constituency. Many Ron Paul supporters want nothing to do with Romney now, but what if Romney was to either put Rand Paul or Ron Paul on the ticket? Hmmmm...