White evangelicals warm to Romney

A new Public Religion Research Institute poll finds Mitt Romney leading Barack Obama by a predictably large 68%-19% among white, evangelical Protestants.

BUT... the interesting number is that Mitt's favorability rating with that demographic has jumped 27% since October 2011 and now sits at 67%.

Romney has always held a big lead with white evangelicals in head-to-head matchups with Obama, but the fav number is important because it suggests improving prospects of evangelical turnout for Romney.

That's big. The raw turnout gap with evangelicals is key.

[Hat tip: The Hill's Justin Sink]