(NewsNation) — Two-thirds of Iowa caucusgoers in 2024 identify as evangelical Christians, but the powerful voting block did not unite around a single candidate for the first time in years.
“I think you have an unusual situation here where you don’t exactly have a true incumbent. It’s almost like a quasi-incumbent. So there is there’s something of a competition that’s happening, even though one [candidate] certainly comes with a leg up,” said Tim Head.
Head, executive director of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, joins NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” to discuss what role faith will play in the results of the Iowa caucuses.
window.loadAnvato({“mcp”:”LIN”,”width”:”100%”,”height”:”100%”,”video”:”9331623″,”autoplay”:false,”expect_preroll”:true,”shareLink”:”https://newsnationnow.com”,”pInstance”:”p5″,”plugins”:{“comscore”:{“clientId”:”6036439″,”c3″:”newsnationnow.com”,”version”:”5.2.0″,”useDerivedMetadata”:true,”mapping”:{“c3″:”newsnationnow.com”,”ns_st_st”:”newsnation”,”ns_st_pu”:”Nexstar”,”ns_st_ge”:”NewsNation,On Balance,Publish,Genre,Politics,Status,Published”,”c4″:”vod”}},”dfp”:{“adTagUrl”:”https://813c5.v.fwmrm.net/ad/g/1?nw=529349&prof=529349%3Anewsnation_web&resp=vmap1&crtp=vast3ap&flag=+sltp+slcb+exvt+aeti+amcb+play+emcr+fbad&sfid=17963904&afid=387621033&metr=47&caid=9331623&vprn=61064&pvrn=56409&csid=NewsNation_politics;_fw_site_page=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsnationnow.com%2Fpolitics%2Ffeed&primary=&pers_cid=0&ad_manager_nonce=%5BGOOGLE_INSTREAM_VIDEO_NONCE%5D&hlmeta=politics”,”isFreewheel”:true},”nielsen”:{“apid”:”P41DFFBE3-BFE6-4E87-A645-785182813A6E”,”sfcode”:”dcr”,”type”:”dcr”,”apn”:”Anvato”,”environment”:”production”,”useDerivedMetadata”:true,”mapping”:{“adloadtype”:2,”adModel”:2}},”segmentCustom”:{“script”:”https://segment.psg.nexstardigital.net/anvato.js”,”writeKey”:”ombTFgzuMyzShBegBMRNK25zHRqm1YzP”,”pluginsLoadingTimeout”:12},”newsNationPlugin”:{“script”:”https://www.newsnationnow.com/wp-content/themes/newsnation/client/build/js/player.bundle.min.js?ver=5ae362a9f270962a23cd”,”cssFile”:”https://www.newsnationnow.com/wp-content/themes/newsnation/client/build/css/player.min.css?ver=1c6e6a717ed83e592517″}},”accessKey”:”GNLYj4WPEPgKWUvG6mTVNFejokMyVq3x”,”token”:”eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJ2aWQiOiI5MzMxNjIzIiwiaXNzIjoiR05MWWo0V1BFUGdLV1V2RzZtVFZORmVqb2tNeVZxM3giLCJleHAiOjE3MDU0MDMyODN9.joyoccmTebAkxS4HCaklNYRlGqykRcvdDGcE0uoeK90″,”expectPrerollTimeout”:8,”nxs”:{“mp4Url”:”https://h104216-fcdn.mp.lura.live/1/938888/2018/24/01/15/9331623/9331623_A0543A8D54658E38F3713ACF46633130_240115_9331623_Mike_Huckabee_____Evangelicals_are_not_a_monolit_4000.mp4″,”enableFloatingPlayer”:true},”disableMutedAutoplay”:false,”recommendations”:false,”expectPreroll”:true,”titleVisible”:true,”pauseOnClick”:true,”trackTimePeriod”:60,”isPermutiveEnabled”:true,”isMinimizedEnabled”:false,”share”:false,”pauseOnTabInactive”:false,”isLeadMedia”:false});
“It’s a ‘Back to the Future’ kind of race here because we have a strong candidate with a strong record. But you also have two other candidates, particularly in DeSantis and Haley, who themselves have something of records because they’ve both been governors,” Head said.
While evangelicals have typically supported former President Donald Trump, his change of position on the controversial “heartbeat” law could hurt his support from the group. However, Head says changing his stance on abortion is strategically smart.
“He’s having to make some kind of strategic approaches, particularly as it relates to the general election and general constituencies that may actually cause some pause, at least among some evangelical voters in the primaries,” Head said.
