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SALT LAKE CITY -- The Republican presidential race has seemed to enter a new phase, and former Utah Olympic boss Mitt Romney appears to be solidifying his front-runner status, which has his opponents trying to attack his perceived weaknesses.
Last Friday, a supporter of Texas Governor Rick Perry injected Romney's religion into the presidential race. But on Monday, the Perry campaign had a new ad comparing Romney to President Obama, using his health care reform as the main target of the attack.
The new ad is a sign the race is entering a new phase -- a tough Perry ad ominously linking Romney to President Obama on health care -- taking Romney to task for changing positions.
Longtime Utah Senator Bob Bennett said Perry's harder edge shows he's lost momentum and the race is Romney's to lose.
"As I look at the other seven (candidates), I don't see anybody there who looks strong enough or well enough connected," Bennett said. "And by connected, I mean organizationally -- as well as financially -- to be able to break through."
Here in New Hampshire, that is seen as the most ridiculous sideshow in recent politics. I have no idea why people are wasting, spending so much political capital and bandwidth on this issue.
–Jon Huntsman
The ad comes after a pivotal "Mormon moment," when an evangelical Christian leader turned his endorsement of Rick Perry into an attack on Romney.
"Mitt Romney's a good, moral person, but he's not a Christian," said Robert Jeffress, Baptist pastor and Perry supporter. "Mormonism is not Christianity. It has always been considered a cult by the mainstream of Christianity."
But Romney fired back saying: "Poisonous language does not advance our cause. It has never softened a single heart nor changed a single mind."
Although it was a supporter of Perry's, the Texas governor distanced himself from the remark, simply saying "No," when asked if Mormonism was a cult.
And political scientist Quin Monson, Associate Professor of Political Science at BYU, said the religion issue may be fading for many Americans.
"There's a lot more pushback this time to the kind of comments that we've heard over the weekend, and I think there's less interest on the part of the media to report it nationally," Monson said.
Rival candidate and fellow Mormon Jon Huntsman told reporters in New Hampshire that the religion issue is a sideshow to a presidential race.
"Here in New Hampshire, that is seen as the most ridiculous sideshow in recent politics," Huntsman said. "I have no idea why people are wasting, spending so much political capital and bandwidth on this issue."
Is this the last voters will hear about the so-called "Mormon issue" in the 2012 presidential race? Probably not, but many political observers say -- and polls show -- it seems to be fading.
Email: jdaley@ksl.com
