Why Ron Paul Might Pull the Mormon Youth Vote
"I think it's definitely possible to be a libertarian and a Mormon," says Dustin Peterson, BYU-Idaho student and board member of Latter-Day Saints for Ron Paul.
Peterson, who spent time volunteering for the Paul campaign in Iowa, spoke with Reason.tv while in Spokane, WA about why Ron Paul might take Mormon votes away from the only Mormon in the race.
While many political analysts believe Mitt Romney has a near-monopoly on the Mormon vote, Ron Paul has spent considerable time courting LDS members living in Western caucus states like Nevada and Idaho (which happen to be the states where he performed best in 2008).
While he expects most Mormons to fall into line behind Romney, Peterson says Mormons have many reasons to support Ron Paul, including theological ones.
"Within our faith, there's a concept called 'agency,' and that's close to liberty," says Peterson. "We're taught to make choices and to decide based on our agency."
While Peterson believes that Mitt Romney will still win most of the Mormon vote, he's hopeful about the future.
"About half the students at BYU-Idaho are Ron Paul supporters, and the other half support Mitt Romney," Peterson says. "There's a battle going on right now on the campuses about the future of the Republican Party."
About 2 minutes. Interview by Zach Weissmueller. Shot by Sharif Matar. Edited by Weissmueller.
Visit Reason.tv for downloadable versions of our videos. And subscribe to our YouTube channel to get automatic updates when new material goes live.
