White Evangelicals are half of GOP primary voters

(CBS News) NEW YORK -- With nominating contests completed in 27 states and nearly 40 percent of Republican National Convention delegates allocated, Republican primary voters are showing a record-breaking religious bent.

So far, 50 percent of Republican primary and caucus voters have been white evangelical, or born again, Christians, based on CBS News polling of voters entering or exiting their polling places since the first contest in January.

The data comes from entrance polls in two caucus states, Iowa and Nevada, and exit polls in 14 primary states - Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.

"Conservative people of faith are playing a larger role in shaping the contours and affecting the trajectory of the Republican presidential nomination contest than at any time since they began pouring out of the pews and into the precincts in the late 1970's," said Ralph Reed, founder and chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, who called our attention to the numbers today.

Reed said conservative Christian turnout among Republicans exceeds its rate from four years ago, when 44 percent of white Republican primary voters described themselves as evangelical. They're not only a factor in the South but also in general election battleground states like Ohio, where 47 percent of Republican primary voters subscribed to the label this year.

Reed estimated that through the primaries in Alabama and Mississippi this past Tuesday, more than 4 million evangelical Christian voters had participated in those 16 primaries and caucuses where entrance or exit polls were conducted by CBS and other news organizations.

"They are indispensable to any winning strategy for the eventual Republican presidential nominee in both the primaries and the general election. Any candidate who ignores these voters and the values that motivate them does so at their own peril," Reed said.

Rick Santorum has been the favorite of Republican white evangelicals, capturing 32 percent of their votes, followed by Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, each with around 29 percent, according to CBS News exit polls.

The Faith and Freedom Coalition, with 400-thousand members and 31 state chapters, plans to distribute voter guides or contact more than 25 million faith-based voters by this November.

[knight4444]

It's unbelievable how so called christians can be so easily fooled! the southern strategy has paid off for the gop, I understand the gop wanting votes by any means necessary but these so called christians???? I'm a christian myself and I think the problem is just because you say your born again doesn't make it so. Many people turn to religion when their lives are at rock bottom and you need some hope. Many people use religion as a life preserver and JESUS seems to be what they reach for. The problem is you must want salvation with a HONEST heart not out of desperation or fear. My point is if you were a backwards raciist idiot chances are without TRUE salvation YOU"LL STILL BE A RACIST IDIOT. The republican party heavily depend on these kind of fools and GOD knows theres plenty of those. heaven help us

[occupy_cbs]

Those GOP clowns pandering to the religious right, are more often than not, making outright racist comments and attacks.


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[ladyang]

Romney will never be president with that demographic! Better start renovating the LaJolla, CA home mitt because 1600 PA Ave will not be your home in Nov.

[nearl451]

Not really all that surprising, is it?

[RobAla]

Here is CBS trying to marginalize Republicans again. Bias. Bias. Bias.

[retm-w]

No there is such a thing as freedom of religion which the evangelicals are trying to eliminate.

[reality_sanity]

No one can marginalize Republicans anywhere near as effectively as the Republicans are doing to themselves.

[stevehamilton858]

I'm a WASP, but I'm not evangelical. Remember freshman Logic Class? If all A's are B's, it doesn't mean that all B's are A's.

[jaykay3141]

Where the far right is concerned, logic ain't part of the picture (e.g. Newt's plans for instantaneous $2.50 gas). Plus the Rev. Santorum has already declared that those of us with a college education are snobs.

[Custard_Pie_In_Your_Face]

They may be relevant to the Republican Party, but nationally they are becoming more and more irrelevant. Thank God for that.

As long as they continue to court the Bible bashing warmongering Christian jihadists, the GOP will drift further and further into the political wilderness.

Pray whoever you want to, however you want to, just keep your ********* religion to yourself.

[jaykay3141]

Jesus was killed ca. the year 33 by current calendar dating. The Christian religion wasn't recognized as separate from Judaism for about 150-200 years after that. It's currently 2012. How does the arithmetic work?

Oh, yeah, things like logic and science are the devil's tools. I forgot. Sorry.

[sandiegopete]

If you are not a white evangelical there is no place for you in the Republican party.

[retm-w]

According to them there is no place for you in the U.S. They don't believe in Freedom of Religion, unless it's theirs.

[AttyFAM]

I would just change that to "white male evangelical" since the Republican Party is at war with women as well.

[AOCGUY]

Dear Lord please deliver us from your faithful.

[AttyFAM]

To NPG -

Satan, demons, etc. You populate the world with your imagination. Religion is not just the opiate of the masses. It is mass hypnosis.

[AOCGUY]

NoProgress_Democrats - No I believe that is whose bidding you are doing, but keep on keeping on, your day in hell will come.