Due to the large Mormon population in several Western states, it raises the question of whether adding Mitt Romney to the ticket would help McCain hold these states.
Romney performed well in many Western states during the GOP primaries, but his faith proved to be a big liability among the evangelical Christians who make up the base of the Republican Party. Many are deeply suspicious of Mormons, forcing Romney to give a speech explaining his beliefs in an effort to quell their concerns.
For the general election, the West, especially the Southwest, rises in strategic significance for both candidates, and Mormons are gaining more attention given their wide dispersion across the region. Although church members are heavily concentrated in Utah, where they make up more than 70 percent of the population, according to church figures, they also top 7 percent of Nevada’s population and 2 percent of Colorado’s, enough to tilt a tight race.
Romney should give McCain a boost in the Mormon community, though McCain should already be doing well with those voters.
As Janey Napolitano points out, the Hispanic community is much more important.
“Obviously, if he picks Romney, it makes a strong play for the Mormon vote, but I don’t know that that decides the West,” said Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, an immensely popular Democrat in McCain’s home state. In an interview, Napolitano said Romney’s reputation for changing his position on issues will not play well with Western voters, who she said tend to like independent pragmatists.
What matters more, Napolitano said, are Latinos, who constitute more than 38 percent of the voters in New Mexico and about 27 percent in Arizona. She argued that McCain’s disavowal of his own failed attempt at immigration reform will cut into his support with this more powerful voting bloc.
Romney was outspoken on the immigration issue, and this would further alienate Hispanic voters. Thus, he could be a net negative in those states.
