Mitt Romney admits he’s a big fan of ‘Twilight’

Is Mitt Romney trying to woo the teenage girl vote ahead of next year's presidential election?

In a potentially campaign-changing development, the 2012 presidential hopeful admitted to NBC's Jamie Gangel that he happens to be a fan of the "Twilight" series. The revelation came up during a discussion of books the former Massachusetts governor has read, including George W. Bush's recent memoir. But that's not all, Romney added.

"I like silly stuff, too," Romney volunteered. "I like the 'Twilight' series. That was fun."

Asked if likes vampires, the GOP hopeful replied, "I don't like them personally. I don't know any." But, he added, he read the book because his granddaughter was reading it and enjoyed it.

Romney's admission casts a different light on a photo the former governor tweeted last year of him posing with "Twilight" star Robert Pattinson—in which the Republican looked a bit more thrilled than most politicians would be.

His disclosure is perhaps not that surprising: The "Twilight" series was written by Stephanie Meyer, a fellow Mormon, and the series is said to be a metaphor for several Mormon doctrines, including abstinence.

While Romney's admission is funny, it's also potentially a sign that he's taken criticism of his candidacy to heart. In 2008, the ex-governor was slammed by GOP voters for being inauthentic and uptight in his bid for the GOP nomination, especially when it came to revealing his personality.

A classic example was in 2007, when Romney admitted that his favorite book was "Battlefield Earth," a sci-fi opus written by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Sensing he'd flubbed, Romney later insisted his favorite book was the Bible, while a spokesman pointed to Romney's MySpace page, which continues to list "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" as his favorite work of fiction.

While "Twilight" may not be as controversial as "Battlefield Earth," Romney's disclosure may be a sign he's willing to be more of himself in his 2012 campaign--or at the very least appear cooler than he actually is.

In his "Today Show" interview, Romney also said he's a fan of "American Idol" and that he plans to go see 'The Book of Mormon," a Broadway show co-written by the creators of "South Park."

"'South Park' is funny," Romney said, adding that he "laughed" when he heard about the musical. "You know your faith has made it big time when people poke fun at you on Broadway."

You can watch an excerpt of Romney's interview with The Today Show here, courtesy NBC:

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(Photo of Romney and Robert Pattison via TwitPic)