At age eight, Marco Rubio was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; a fact he reminds LDS Republican voters.
In this Aug. 22, 2015 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks in Columbus. (Associated Press)
Mormons makes up 1.7 percent of the U.S. population and 65 percent of them identify with the Republican Party, according to the Pew Research Center. With the Republican nomination drawing near, Rubio is subtly leveraging his LDS background to build support from the Mormon population, especially in important caucus states like Nevada.
In his autobiography, “An American Son†(2012), the Florida Republican presidential nominee addresses the three years he spent as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and thanks the LDS church for helping his family when they moved from Miami to Las Vegas.
“The Mormon church provided the sound moral structure my mother had wanted for us, and a circle of friends from stable, God-fearing families,†Rubio writes in his book. “When we left the church a few years later, mostly at my instigation, we did so with gratitude for its considerable contribution to our happiness in those years.â€
Recently on the campaign trail, Rubio has held meetings and private meet-and-greets with prominent political leaders, who are of the LDS faith, such as Nevada Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison.
Hutchison hosted a backyard event at his Las Vegas home in July, as Rubio’s state chairman. The event was attended by state legislators, activists and political operatives — including Mormon members.
At the gathering, Rubio addressed his candidacy goals and explained his history with Las Vegas while standing on Hutchison’s basketball court, which features the BYU logo.
However, Rubio did not to mention his LDS baptism, according to Politico.
“It would’ve been a misstep if he had done that; too obvious,†Nevada Assemblyman Erven Nelson, a Mormon who supports Rubio, said at a media event.
Rubio’s ability to win over LDS voters could go a long way in the West, where Mormons represent roughly a quarter of caucus-goers, according to 2012 entrance polls.
“To me, if he still had the same morals and beliefs, that would effect my likeliness to vote for him,†said psychology student Bryce Hessing, 28, Meridian, Idaho. “But what he did in the past does not necessarily reflect who he is now. I think what should be really considered is his current actions and plans.â€
Rubio currently identifies himself as a Catholic but has not been removed from LDS church records.
- See more at: http://universe.byu.edu/2015/09/15/marco-rubio-promotes-his-mormon-background/#sthash.WVK0sOcx.dpuf
Barton: Glenn Beck Is A Christian Who Identifies As Mormon Simply Out Of Loyalty
Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Tuesday, 7/23/2013 10:39 am
It has been no secret that there have been some among the Religious Right who have raised concerns about the prominent role that Glenn Beck has been playing within the movement because he is a practitioner of the Mormon faith. And given David Barton’s close ties to Beck, Barton has also received criticism for defending Beck, often by claiming that if you judge Beck simply by the “fruits” of his works and not his label, he is really a Christian.
While Beck himself openly embraces his Mormon faith and has even dedicated entire programs to defending it, Barton continues to insist that Beck is really just a Mormon in name only, and he only does that because he has a loyalty to the church for helping him overcome with problems with alcohol.
As Barton explained to Steve Deace last week, individual Mormons can go to Heaven and Beck really “became a Christian back when he was in Alcoholics Anonymous” but identifies as a Mormon today only “because he has a loyalty to them”:
- See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/barton-glenn-beck-christian-who-identifies-mormon-just-out-loyalty#sthash.3l6JQTsE.dpuf
Ted Cruz 2016!
Back in September, Glenn Beck said that the TEA Party was made up of a bunch of racists. In 2011 he also said that the TEA Party was racists for supporting Newt Gingrich.
I think that Ted Cruz accepting the endorsement of this loon is a mistake.
If Palin has endorsed anyone else he’d be saying she ‘has blood coming out of her whatever.’
The Vindictive Don.
The Bully Don.
The clueless about the Constitution and conservatism Don.
Take your pick!
You underplayed it Captain.
It should read: Extremely bad move for the Cruz campaign.
McCain called Cruz a whacko bird. I guess McCain and Trump have a lot more in common than we thought.