Romney, Huntsman compete for support and donors among their fellow Mormons

SALT LAKE CITY – The first presidential nomination race pitting two Mormons against each other is setting off a competition for their coreligionist’s support, which can result in sizeable campaign contributions despite their small bloc of votes.

Both Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman are planning trips to the predominantly Mormon state of Utah to pitch their White House bids and try to raise funds.

The two candidates are distant cousins and have much in common.

Both are former Republican governors and sons of industrial giants. Both have matinee idol good looks and business-heavy resumes. Both have big families. Both are running for the White House with positions that fall outside the Republican orthodoxy.

But there are big differences in their candidacies. Romney is seen as the front-runner in the wide-open race for the Republican nomination to run against President Barack Obama. Huntsman, who served as Obama’s ambassador to China, is not well-known nationally.

As Romney and Huntsman jostle for support, Mormons are watching two of their own compete in what could become a nasty, intra-faith contest between two scions of Mormon royalty.

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“It’s not automatic that this Mormon is going to support a Mormon,” said Gary Lawrence, a political pollster in Southern California who shares the two candidates’ faith.

He pointed to Romney’s 2008 campaign that included a speech on his faith that helped assuage some of the public’s concerns over Mormons.

“I would say Mormonism will be a factor in the candidacy of these two men,” he said, “but not as big of one as it was the last time.”

A Gallup poll found 22 per cent of Americans wouldn’t support a Mormon for president – a consistent number since the polling firm started asking about Mormons in the White House in 1967 when then-Michigan Gov. George Romney sought the office.

“I think (Mormonism) is still something of a barrier, but not insurmountable,” said Lavar Webb, a Mormon and a Republican strategist. “I think anyone will have a difficult fight against Obama, but I think if he lost, it wouldn’t be his Mormon religion that did it.”

Both men say they’re not personally close; neither is rushing to help the other despite a tangled political and personal family tree.

In 2008, Huntsman backed Sen. John McCain’s presidential bid and was often at his side, watching the person-to-person campaign master at work.

His father, industrial magnate Jon Huntsman Sr., was a national finance chairman for Romney, turning to his vast network to open deep pockets that helped Romney wage a professional – although unsuccessful – presidential bid. Now, the elder Huntsman is working for his son’s bid.

The personal ties are even deeper.

Huntsman’s uncle Bruce once dated Romney’s sister Lynn.

Huntsman’s maternal grandfather was best friends with Romney’s father, George

Huntsman’s mother lived for two years with Romney’s sister Jane while they were at the University of Utah.

Going back even further: Early Mormon missionary Parley Pratt is Huntsman’s great-great-great-grandfather and Romney’s great-great-grandfather.

Both Romney’s and Huntsman’s families have strong familial ties to the Mormon church. Romney served as a stake president in the church, roughly the equivalent of a volunteer chief executive officer in a Catholic diocese. Huntsman’s family lends its private jets to church leaders.

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Elliott reported from Washington.