Poll

WASHINGTON -- A new poll suggests that Mitt Romney's faith could play a role in the 2012 Republican nominating race, with a sizable part of respondents saying they believe that Mormonism is a non-Christian faith.

Mitt Romney is stepping away from the rest of the field for the GOP presidential nomination and is increasingly competitive against President Barack Obama, though the former Massachusetts governor faces a potential problem because of his religion, according to the Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday.

A quarter of Republicans or GOP-leaning independent voters said they would back Romney over the rest of field for the Republican nod. It was the best showing for Romney in months and the first time any Republican had garnered so much support from his own party, a sign that Republicans may be coalescing a bit in these early days of the 2012 presidential campaign.

Still, Romney faces a possible political problem because of his religion, the Quinnipiac poll and other surveys have found. Overall, only 45 percent said they had a favorable opinion of the Mormon religion, while 32 percent said they had an unfavorable one. Other polls have found different numbers, but most agree that between a quarter and a third of voters say they would have a problem voting for a Mormon, creating a tough situation for Romney and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who is flirting with a presidential bid.

DENVER -- A survey of voters in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Utah and New Mexico shows that a substantial portion aren't convinced that action needs to be taken on global warming.

But the survey shows they nevertheless tend to support federal regulations requiring reductions in carbon emissions from such sources as power plants, cars and factories to reduce climate change.

WASHINGTON — Desperate for jobs and cool toward President Barack Obama, working-class whites are flocking to Republicans, turning a group long wary of Democrats into an even bigger impediment to the party's drive to keep control of Congress.