Posted on 05/20/2011 9:15:37 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Mike Huckabee, judging by the early opinion polls, would have been among the most formidable challengers to Mitt Romney, the putative front-runner for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination. But Huckabee's departure from the race, paradoxically, could make it more difficult for Romney to prevail.
The reason is that with Huckabee off the field, the former Baptist minister's core constituency -- the evangelical Christians who represent nearly half of the GOP's primary electorate -- are now back in play for all competitors. If Romney can't defang the resistance he encountered from those voters in 2008, he faces the threat that they will eventually consolidate behind another contender, such as former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, with potentially wider support than Huckabee demonstrated last time. "The risk for Romney is that some other candidate with broader appeal may attract them, someone who could stitch together a majority coalition in a way that Huckabee was not going to do," says veteran GOP pollster Whit Ayres, who is not affiliated with any of the 2012 candidates.
Even many Republicans underestimate the centrality of evangelical voters in the GOP's nominating process. In 2008, self-identified evangelical Christians constituted 44 percent of all Republican presidential primary voters, according to a cumulative analysis of state exit polls by former ABC polling director Gary Langer. Candidates who rely almost entirely on evangelicals -- such as Huckabee, Gary Bauer in 2000, and televangelist Pat Robertson in 1988 -- have never come close to winning the GOP nomination. But evangelicals are plentiful enough that any candidate whom they deem completely unacceptable faces a formidable obstacle -- and not only in the Deep South, where they are most heavily concentrated.
Evangelical Christians represented a majority of 2008 GOP primary voters in 11 of the 29 states in which exit polls were conducted.....
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
My answer to the question posed in the article title:
“I sure as heck hope we do!!”
Evangelicals don’t need to sink Romney. Romney sinks Romney.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/22/us-stage-bookofmormon-idUSTRE72L2W120110322
Romney care has already sunk Romney. Dead man walking.
RINO Romney is doing a fine job of sinking himself, thank you.
Given that virtually every Mormon I know is completely honest and trustworthy, it is proof that associating with politics is very very dangerous to one’s morality.
Amen!
people expecting resonsible, conservative, small government will sink Romney.
If Romney campaigns as Romney, he indeed sinks himself.
A certain percentage of evangelicals will not support a Mormon because they believe that Mormons are a cult, not “true” Christians. (This is not my belief but it must be considered politically).
But many Christians were willing to back Romney when it came down to Romney vs McCain in 2008 so it may not be enough to stop Romney from getting the nomination however it’s a dynamic that could cost Romney some primary states.
Yup! When a RINO is playing with rope, it is counterprocutive to jump in there and try to help him. Just get out of the way and let nature take its course.
Rommycare will be the chief reason, with the Mormon factor not far behind, since it violates the teaching of not adding or subtracting from the Bible, in the book of Revelations.
Romney’s incessant use of his religion
is the last refuge of the miserable,
backstabbing scoundrel whom he is.
Post number 10 means, not to add on, (Book of Mormon) as well as subtract from.
Let’s hope so!
I don’t care if space aliens sink him, as long as somebody does. Go home to your nice family and live on your dividends, Willard. WE’RE JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU.
Liberalism will sink Romney.
OK, of the 14 posts before mine, everyone here just DETESTS Romney. And you all hated Huckabee, a true evangelical, as well.
Since Christ Himself is not running, who do YOU think can win the nomination AND beat 0bama?
Depends on whether they’re Evangelicals In Name Only or not.
most here would say Palin
It sure got quiet in here all of a sudden!
But thanks for your response, TF. Maybe she will be the one.
The Catholic church does as well, as does the Greek Orthodox church, all Christian churches are on the same page in regard to the Mormon religion.
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