An Iowa Evangelical Pastor Leads His Coveted Flock to Ted Cruz
- Church-goers look past economy in hunt for purest candidate
- The cohort represents 28% of state's adults, a rich prize
A marquee with the phrase 'Go To Caucus Vote Biblically' is seen outside the Fort Des Moines Church of Christ during a Wednesday night service.
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/BloombergAlong Army Post Road in the southern stretches of Iowa’s capital city, an illuminated sign outside Fort Des Moines Church of Christ exhorts: “GO TO CAUCUS -- VOTE BIBLICALLY -- FEB. 1.” Inside the worship room, Pastor Mike Demastus explained what those words entail.
“A lot of evangelicals in the state of Iowa, we look at candidates based upon a three-tier value system: What will a candidate do about life, marriage and religious liberty?” he told members of his 200-member congregation attending Wednesday night’s weekly study session. “It’s not that economics and the economy are not important; they are. It’s not that health care is not important; it is, but that it takes a second seat, a back seat, to those three critical issues.”