The presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman have brought attention to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also known as LDS and the Mormon faith. If Romney wins the Republican nomination, Mormons can expect significant scrutiny from both the world media and ordinary voters. What follows is a brief political history of the Mormon faith. How many American Mormons are there? Where do they live, and how do they vote?

Mormons were once “populist” Democrats, one of the distinctive minorities of the New Deal coalition who grew up poor during the Depression and eventually left the party after rapidly achieving economic success.