As Democrats preach faith, conservative pastors condemn their campaigns from the pulpit

Conservative evangelical pastors are challenging Democratic candidates who have made Christianity central to their campaigns ahead of the US midterm elections. In Texas, Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas said he planned to draw parallels between the election and the Tower of Babel in a Sunday sermon. He argued that Senate candidate James Talarico’s religious views were misleading. Pastors in Kansas and Iowa also criticised Democratic candidates Adam Hamilton, Lindsay James and Sarah Trone Garriott, citing disagreements over issues including abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. The reported sermon plans had not yet taken place when the story was published on 31 October.

The four Democrats describe their faith as a reason to care for neighbours and serve their communities. Talarico is a Presbyterian seminarian; Hamilton is a United Methodist pastor; and James and Trone Garriott are clergy running for the House in Iowa. Their campaigns rejected attempts to dictate who counts as a Christian, while Hamilton’s campaign declined to comment. The dispute shows how candidates on both sides are invoking religion in competitive races, and leaves voters to judge how much weight to give a candidate’s beliefs and the policies they support.