Republicans: The Long, Hot Century?

In his quest for the presidency, Michigan's Governor George Romney—unlike any other potential candidate for 1968—has to prove that his religious beliefs will not influence his political decisions. Though Romney, a Mormon, has an admirable record as a civil rights advocate, he has yet to persuade most Negroes that he does not share his church's traditional belief that they are the sons of Cain (TIME, April 14).

Romney has been successful in his home state, where Negro support at the polls has risen from below 6% in his first campaign in 1962 to...