Eighteen percent of Americans say they would not support a well-qualified presidential candidate who is Mormon, according to a new poll from Gallup released Thursday.
That level of discrimination facing Mitt Romney, a former Mormon bishop, is virtually the same as it was when his father was preparing a presidential bid of his own. Seventeen percent held a prejudice against Mormon presidential candidates in 1967. George Romney, the late former governor of Michigan and father of the presumptive Republican nominee, ran for president in 1968.
From Gallup:
The exact percentage of Americans who resist the idea of voting for a Mormon has varied slightly over the eight times Gallup has asked the question, typically when a Mormon was running for president, including George Romney (1968 campaign), Orrin Hatch (2000 campaign), and Mitt Romney (2008 and 2012 campaigns). The percentage opposed to a Mormon president has averaged 19% since 1967 — from a low of 17% at several points to a high of 24% in 2007. The current 18% is down from 22% a year ago.
