Can McCain Court Evangelicals Through His Support for the War in Iraq?
The Calvin College survey made some notable findings that also suggested that conservative activists are exaggerating McCain’s evangelical problem. Overall, evangelicals remain overwhelmingly Republican, and even though they are not supporting McCain at the same rate they were supporting Bush at the same point in the 2004 campaign, the shift is largely to the undecided column rather than Obama’s, particularly among the traditionalists, who make up the base of the religious right. Of course small shifts in Obama’s favor could make an electoral difference in closely contested states, but the myth of a massive defection of evangelicals away from the GOP is exaggerated. Notably, evangelicals remain the biggest proponents of the Iraq war, with 57% agreeing with the statement that “the U.S. did the right thing in taking military action against Iraq,” a much higher percentage than any other religious grouping, and the only religious group in which a majority expressed support for the war. Sup
