Evangelicals, Issues, and the 2008 Iowa Caucuses

Evangelicals form the core of Republican constituencies in many states. This has been particularly true in Iowa, where the Christian Right has held significant influence in the Republican party for almost 20 years. However, recent scholarship has suggested that evangelicals, particularly younger one...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Conger, Kimberly H. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Cambridge Univ. Press [2010]
In: Politics and religion
Year: 2010, Volume: 3, Issue: 1, Pages: 130-149
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
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Summary:Evangelicals form the core of Republican constituencies in many states. This has been particularly true in Iowa, where the Christian Right has held significant influence in the Republican party for almost 20 years. However, recent scholarship has suggested that evangelicals, particularly younger ones, may be changing their candidate choices and partisanship due to dissatisfaction with Republican policies. Based on a unique study surveying caucus-goers' opinions after the January 2008 caucuses, I examine respondents' candidate preferences in light of their religious beliefs, issues preferences, and demographic identities. The results indicate that while evangelicals remain more conservative on social issues than their co-partisans in both parties, issues seem to make little difference in candidate choice. This conclusion suggests that Republican evangelicals remain committed to the importance of social issues - or at least to their evangelical identity - in their voting choices.
ISSN:1755-0491
Contains:Enthalten in: Politics and religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/S1755048309990460