Report: ‘Utahn’ Romney Will Embrace Mormon Faith to Be More “Authentic’ If He Runs Again

If Mitt Romney decides to make a third White House run, he will reportedly run as a “Utahn” who embraces his Mormon faith in order to be seen as “authentic.”

According to the Washington Post, Romney “is determined to re-brand himself as authentic, warts and all, and central to that mission is” reportedly speaking openly about his Mormon faith.

“He has been reluctant to speak too openly on the campaign trail about his faith out of a concern that people would believe his motivation for running was based on an attempt to convert others to his faith,” Romney’s son Tagg told the outlet. “If he were to run again, I believe he would be much more willing to open up and share who he is — not by asking others to learn the doctrines of his faith, but by speaking of the values of love and service that it has taught him.”

In 2012, President Barack Obama won reelection in a terrible economy because Romney, in addition to notoriously flip-flopping on a range of issues, hired a team of campaign hacks who ran a terrible campaign. Romney seemed reluctant to talk about his experiences helping poor and underprivileged people and the values his faith instilled in him because his consultants advised him to stay away from the issue–his faith–that made him most human and about which he could speak most genuinely. So Romney and his team just robotically focused on statistics and the economy.

Romney also registered to vote in Utah last year, and should Romney decide to run, his aides are reportedly “considering making Salt Lake City, the cradle of Mormonism, his 2016 campaign headquarters,” according to the Post.

As the Boston Globe noted, in 2002, Romney faced residency and eligibility issues when he was running for Massachussets governor “because his Park City, Utah, home was listed as his primary residence while he oversaw the Salt Lake Olympics.”

Romney reportedly “called the issue a ‘clerical error’ and later amended several of his tax returns,” though some felt Romney had Utah listed as his primary residence to keep his options open regarding a statewide run in Utah at the time.