"Southern bias against the rich, Mormons could hurt Romney" 9/11/2012

Southern bias against the rich, Mormons could hurt Romney

By James Rainey

September 11th, 2012

Los Angeles Times

     This article discusses how Mitt Romney being mormon can negatively affect his popularity in the polls. A Reuters/Ipsos survey was given to middle and lower-class caucasian citizens in the South. It's usually assumed that white people from this region are quick to vote republican. That may be true, but this recent poll shows that some Southern whites may consider voting for Obama because they'd rather not vote for someone who is "very wealthy" or grew up "filthy rich." Instead, some say that Obama focuses more on those in need. Although it may not be their ideal choice, many of these people in the Bible Belt say they'd vote for an African American before voting for a mormon.

     This seems to be upping the Democratic vote in the region of the U.S. that is always thought to be predominantly Republican. I found that many more people then I would think involved their religious beliefs in deciding who to vote for. I had no idea there was a large enough group of citizens to shift some of the South's vote to Democrat. I could use this information to study the changes in the majority vote of the South throughout the years. I could also find out what is most important to people when choosing who to represent the country.

     Rainey doesn't seem to take sides in the article. Although the article describes a negative impact on Romney's campaign, James Rainey seems to speaking with somewhat neutral voice.
Mitt Romney's being mormon could easily, and seems to already have, put a detrimental effect on his campaign especially in the south, more specifically the "Bible Belt." This issue could cause a significant   shift in white Southern republicans to white Southern democrats.

URL: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-poll-southern-romney-mormon-rich-20120911,0,5206114.story