Although not widely noticed, Mitt Romney seems to be on his
way to capturing as much of the white evangelical vote as
George W. Bush famously did in 2004. Bush got 79 percent. A
Pew poll conducted before the first presidential debate had
Romney getting 74 percent of white evangelicals versus 19
percent for Obama.
Although Barack Obama got only 26 percent
of white evangelicals in 2008, according to exit polls, he
got about 33 percent of young white evangelicals. The latter
statistic inspired hopes by Democrats and liberal
evangelicals for a generational shift away from social
issues in favor of more liberal-focused causes. But a Public
Religion Research Institute poll, pre-presidential debates,
showed young white evangelicals choosing Romney over Obama
by 80 percent to 15 percent. Hispanic evangelicals
reportedly are not as strongly for Romney as they were for
Bush, although they are much more pro-Romney than Catholic
or non-religious Hispanics.
Full throttle evangelical support for
Romney was not widely anticipated. Evangelicals do not see
the former Mormon bishop as one of their own, as they did
Bush. And Romney has not strongly emphasized social issues
that energize conservative evangelicals. Many prominent
evangelical leaders endorsed Rick Santorum during the
Republican primaries.
But Obama administration policies
favoring same-sex marriage, indirect abortion funding
through Obamacare, and the HHS mandate compelling religious
groups to offer contraceptive/abortifacient coverage have
antagonized many evangelicals. Several evangelical schools
have joined Catholic schools in litigating against the
mandate. The Democratic convention’s awkward last minute
restoration of God to the party platform likely did not
help.
Now the most revered American evangelical
seems to have virtually endorsed Romney. On October 11
Romney met with 93-year-old Billy Graham at his North
Carolina mountain log cabin. Photos of the two with Graham’s
evangelist son, Franklin, were released and widely
published. Graham was quoted as telling Romney: “I'll do all
I can to help you. And you can quote me on that.” A
statement from Graham afterwards was issued.
"It was an honor to meet and host Gov.
Romney in my home today, especially since I knew his late
father former Michigan Gov. George Romney, whom I considered
a friend,” the statement said. “I have followed Mitt
Romney's career in business, the Olympic Games, as governor
of Massachusetts and, of course, as a candidate for
president of the United States.”
"What impresses me even more than Gov.
Romney's successful career are his values and strong moral
convictions,” Graham continued. “I appreciate his faithful
commitment to his impressive family, particularly his wife
Ann of 43 years and his five married sons.”
After noting that it was a “privilege to
pray with Gov. Romney—for his family and our country,”
Graham noted he will turn 94 the day after Election Day and
believes America “is at a crossroads.” He then offered his
virtual endorsement: “I hope millions of Americans will join
me in praying for our nation and to vote for candidates who
will support the biblical definition of marriage, protect
the sanctity of life and defend our religious freedoms." In
contrast, after candidate John McCain visited Billy Graham
in 2008 there was only a statement from Franklin Graham
commending McCain’s “personal faith and his moral clarity.”
President Obama visited Graham in April, becoming the
twelfth American president with whom the evangelist has
conferred across over 60 years of public life.
Critics on the left groused that Franklin
Graham likely wrote the Romney statement and got his aged
father’s perfunctory approval. But there’s nothing in the
statement that sounds unlike Graham. The evangelist has
typically avoided the appearance of direct political
endorsements, his famous last minute decision to back away
from endorsing Richard Nixon in 1960 being one example. But
he famously supported North Carolina’s pro-traditional
marriage constitutional amendment in May, which clearly
contributed towards the amendment’s large victory. Critics
detected the hand of the son there too. But nobody believes
that the elder Graham is anything less than pro traditional
marriage and pro-life. And certainly he must share religious
liberty concerns over the HHS mandate. Critics also reported
that the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association removed a
reference to Mormonism as a “cult” from its website after
the Romney visit.
Undeterred, on October 18, Billy Graham’s
group placed a special message from the elder evangelist in
a Wall Street Journal ad. “The legacy we leave
behind for our children, grandchildren and this great nation
is crucial,” he succinctly declares. “As I approach my 94th
birthday I realize this election could be my last. I believe
it is vitally important that we cast our ballots for
candidates who base their decisions on biblical principles
and who support the nation of Israel. I urge you to support
candidates who protect the sanctity of life and support the
biblical definition of marriage between a man and a woman.
Vote for biblical values this November 6, and pray with me
that America remains one nation under God.” The words are
juxtaposed with a large photo of a white haired Graham
stalwartly clutching a Bible, along with his signature.
The Graham ad apparently will appear in
other newspapers in the coming days. The American Family
Association, a large parachurch group based in Mississippi,
additionally disseminated the ad with permission from
Graham’s office and urged it be distributed in churches.
Undoubtedly it will be.
Graham’s pro-Romney efforts may further
energize evangelicals in key states like North Carolina,
Virginia, Florida, Ohio, and some other Midwestern states.
But polls indicated well before the Graham effort that
evangelicals were already fully on board with defeating
President Obama, whatever their stance towards the first
Mormon presidential nominee
