Mormons Back Romney -- in Iowa
Support Could Give Presidential Hopeful An Edge in Close Race
By ELIZABETH HOLMES
The Wall Street Journal
December 18, 2007; Page A10

BETTENDORF, Iowa -- Pam Garner brought two of her four children and
some homemade mint-chocolate-chip cookies to a town-hall meeting here
last week with Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. Afterward,
she offered up a list of reasons she was supporting the former
governor of Massachusetts, including his stance in favor of family
values and against big government.

With her 1-year-old daughter tugging at a Romney sticker on her shirt,
Mrs. Garner, 32 years old, said she didn't have any issues with Mr.
Romney's Mormon religion. When asked what faith she was, she laughed
and said, "His."

The spotlight in the Republican race for Iowa has been on the
evangelical vote mobilizing behind former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee,
a former Baptist minister. But in his bid to hold on to the first
caucus state, Mr. Romney can count on another strong, albeit silent,
religious bloc: his fellow Mormons.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says it has more than
22,500 members in Iowa in 68 congregations. Joseph Cheney, the
president of one of seven "stakes," or geographical groups within the
church, estimates that as many as 7,000 Mormons are likely to show up
on caucus night, and that nearly three-quarters of the Mormons in the
state support Mr. Romney.

That isn't enough to compete with the 500,000 Iowa evangelicals, or
about a quarter of the voting-adult population, according to the Pew
Forum on Religion & Public Life. But in a tight race, the Iowa Mormon
vote could give Mr. Romney an edge.

The Mormon vote has a small but strong presence in other early-voting
states as well. The LDS church, which has about 8,000 members in New
Hampshire and 34,300 in South Carolina, doesn't endorse a candidate or
allow politics to be discussed at church activities.

Their leaders emphasize the need to be active, voting members of a
community. "The church does encourage the members to go and exercise
their right to vote," said Mr. Cheney.

Iowa's Mormon population is spread throughout the state. There are
higher concentrations in urban areas, especially the far western part
of the state near Omaha, Mr. Cheney said. The southeastern corner of
the state, intersecting with Illinois and Missouri, also has ties to
the church. Across the river from Iowa is Nauvoo, Ill., a small town
to which Mormon founder Joseph Smith fled in 1839.

Nearly every Romney campaign event has members of the candidate's
faith in attendance. Kathy Dzado, a 58-year-old from Marion, brought
her husband and son out to a holiday party that the Romney campaign
organized last week. She was surprised to see other people from her
church, part of the Cedar Rapids stake, at the event. "We never talk
about politics, ever. No one would dare bring it up," said Mrs. Dzado,
who was raised Catholic but later converted to Mormonism.
Few say they are supporting Mr. Romney because of his faith but rather
cite his emphasis on the family or other conservative values. They
ramble off a bullet-point resume and reveal the connection with their
faith only when asked.

"I like what he's done for the state of Massachusetts," said 75-year-
old Robert Doty, an Iowa resident and a Mormon who lived 21 years of
his life in Michigan. "He has integrity," chimed in Mr. Doty's wife,
Thelma, 72. Mr. Doty said the majority of his LDS congregation is in
favor of Mr. Romney, though one younger member likes Sen. Hillary
Rodham Clinton.

Mr. Romney isn't actively courting members of his faith. He doesn't
seem to have to. Although he had very little national name recognition
when he announced his candidacy, Mr. Romney was already well-known
within the LDS community, particularly after he ran the 2002 Olympic
Games in Salt Lake City. "They knew him very well before he ever
became a candidate for president," said Mr. Cheney.

This summer, 24-year-old Ashley Cena and her husband, Lorenzo, saw Mr.
Romney and his wife at church in Ames. Mrs. Cena didn't say anything,
although she rushed home to call her family in California. "I called
my parents and told them, 'Guess who we sat next to in church today?'"
said Mrs. Cena.

Mormon support could aid Mr. Romney in primaries in some of the Feb. 5
Super Tuesday states as well. Scott Findley and his wife, Emily, are
avid supporters of Mr. Romney and plan to support him in the Illinois
primary that day. They planned their 25-hour holiday road trip from
their Illinois home to Idaho with their three small children in the
hopes of catching Mr. Romney in Iowa. "We told ourselves, if we set
foot in Iowa, we're going to drive wherever we have to to see the
governor speak," said Mr. Findley.

http://www.truthandgrace.com/Mormon.htm