What is the power and political purpose of evangelical voters?
Evangelical voters have traditionally voted consistently along Republican Party lines, and they have been drawn to the polls by hot button social issues like abortion and same-sex marriage. Because of this, they are a valuable constituency. The power of evangelical support was illustrated most recently by the meteoric rise of Mike Huckabee.
But a new generation of Christian evangelical activists is shaping the election race by asking both Republican and Democratic candidates to support a broader conservative platform, including attention global warming, AIDS and poverty. The younger evangelical constituency is moving further away from the GOP, according to a study by the Pew Forum on Religion.
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