CNN announced today that Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts) is leading his opponents by more than 20 points in Iowa and New Hampshire, the two states that kick-off the primaries early next year. Paul Steinhauser, deputy political director for CNN states in his article that although Romney is showing a strong showing, he could be in trouble further down the road because he may lose his support from evangelical Christians. Their support could very easily swing to Mike Huckabee (R-Arkansas), a Baptist minister. Hans Nichols and Christopher Stern state in their article on Bloomberg that the best way for Romney to keep the evangelical vote is to stop trying to assimilate himself with their faith. Representative Bob Inglus (R-South Carolina) told Romney, “…you cannot equate Mormonism with Christianity.”

At some point, Romney will have to explain his faith to mainstream America, and will then have to say how his faith will impact his presidency. JFK did this during his 1960 presidential run, but as a Republican who depends on the Christian vote, Romney can’t afford to use JFK’s tactics; he can’t say that he will uphold separation of church and state. Many on the right believe that this has resulted in the social problems we see today.

Utlimately, only time will tell how Romney will fare in the primaries. Battling against celebrity politicians like Giuliani and McCain will present a difficult challenge. His success will depend on his ability to keep the Christian vote, so he must start doing a better job of explaining why he is the better candidate when compared to Huckabee and stop worrying about Giuliani and McCain.