The Mormon faith and the election

GREEN BAY - While running for president, Mitt Romney has become one of the most visible Mormons in the United States.

"It is exciting. It's fun to watch because I can really relate to Mitt Romney,” said Greg Krehbiel.

Krehbiel is the president of the Green Bay Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

More than 5,000 people in Northeast Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula belong to the LDS Church.

While not endorsing Romney, Mormon leaders across the country reached out Friday, explaining questions about their faith that have come up during the election cycle.

"Oh, you're Mormon, you have more than one wife. That's one of the first questions that they ask me. It’s usually in jest,” said Krehbiel. “We've been sort of demonized a little bit in saying we're not Christian. Yet the name of our church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

St. Norbert College, a Catholic school, released its latest presidential poll Thursday. Very few Wisconsin voters polled listed Romney's faith as the primary reason why they won't support him.

"We had hundreds of people surveyed and two people mentioned it. So it's really not a big issue,” said Wendy Scattergood, one of the St. Norbert College professors who worked on the survey.

• Click here for the full poll results

St. Norbert College religious studies professor Paul Waddell says questions concerning a candidate's faith are nothing new in presidential races.

"It reminds me a little back in 1960 when John Kennedy was running for president. You saw the same questions being asked because he was Catholic,” said Wadell.

Wadell says religious diversity in the U.S. has grown, and is represented by the presidential tickets.

Besides Romney being a Mormon, President Obama is a non-denominational Christian. Both Ryan and Biden are Catholics.

Local Mormons say having their "brother" run for president has helped their church's image.

"I think in those four years, I've seen a different reaction to the church. We've been seeing a lot of publicity and a lot if it has been good,” said Krehbiel.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says it does not endorse any candidate or party.