Marco Rubio's Mormon roots

The revelation adds a new dimension to Rubio’s already-nuanced religious history—and could complicate his political future at a time when many Republicans see him as the odds-on favorite for the 2012 vice presidential nod. Vice presidential candidates are traditionally chosen to provide ethnic and religious balance to a ticket. Mitt Romney’s Mormonism and Rubio’s status Catholic faith would already meant the first two members of minority traditions on a Republican ticket in American history. Rubio’s Mormon roots could further complicate that calculation.

A sign that Rubio’s aides see the story as potentially damaging: BuzzFeed’s inquiries appear to have sent them into frantic damage-control mode, and after BuzzFeed’s inquiries — but minutes before Conant returned BuzzFeed’s call this morning — a brief item mentioning the Senator’s roots appeared on the blog of the Miami Herald mentioning the Senator’s religous past…

“When they went to Miami, they basically stopped going to church,” said Mo, who currently serves in the lay Mormon leadership in Las Vegas. “I think they probably didn’t have the [LDS] church around them there.”

Michelle said the family eventually started identifying as Catholic—once again, at Marco’s urging.

“He really convinced the whole family to switch religions,” she said. “He’s very vocal so he convinced them all the become Catholic.”