Recently 'outshined' in the polls by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, presidential contender Mitt Romney is hoping to quell voter skepticism tomorrow with a talk on his Mormon faith.
Romney scheduled his address “Faith in America,” for Thursday in College Station, Texas, after polls showed Evangelical-Christian voters in Iowa shying away at his religious faith.
The speech, Romney's own idea, will be general in nature with talking points highlighting America's tradition of religious tolerance, reports Reuters.
"This speech is an opportunity for Governor Romney to share his views on religious liberty, the grand tradition religious tolerance has played in the progress of our nation and how the governor's own faith would inform his presidency if he were elected," Romney spokesman Kevin Madden was quoted by Reuters.
A recent Pew Research poll shows that while most American's accept Mormonism one in four would be less likely to vote for a Mormon president. Support for a Mormon would be especially low, predicts a Time Magazine Piece by Michal Duffy, among Conservative Christians.
“Many of them believe that if the G.O.P. nominates Romney — much less if the country elects him as President — Mormons will gain a stronger hand in the all-important business of saving souls,” says Duffy. “To them, the stakes of that struggle are as great or greater than any fight about a political office.”
With the Jan. 3 primaries fast approaching Romney is hoping to address the issue publicly at the H.W. Bush presidential library and get voter focus back on politics.
"I'm not running for pastor-in-chief. I'm running for commander-in-chief,” he told CBS News.
If elected he would be the first Mormon to serve as president of the United States.
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