Evangelical Christians have dominated Republican politics for decades in South Carolina, rated one of the most intensely religious states in the nation by the Gallup Poll, based on attendance at worship services. Four years ago, 60 percent of those who voted in the party's primary identified themselves as born-again Christians.
"Morality will be the deciding issue for me," said Adam Burger, 31, a computer programmer from nearby Lexington, S.C., and a member of First Baptist. "It's hard to trust someone who doesn't share your faith and values."
Right now, polls show that evangelicals are mostly split among former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry - but even front-runner Mitt Romney, the Mormon former Massachusetts governor with a reputation as a moderate, is getting a healthy share of such voters' support.
A CNN/Time poll of 505 likely South Carolina voters released Wednesday found that Romney was leading overall with 33 percent, including backing from 26 percent of the evangelicals surveyed. Gingrich, second overall, was the choice of 23 percent of evangelicals, to 20 percent for Santorum, 12 percent for libertarian Texas Rep. Ron Paul, and 9 percent for Perry. The survey, conducted Friday through Tuesday, had an error margin of plus or minus 4.5 percent.
Romney can win the state so long as the candidates competing to be the last conservative standing against him divide the evangelical vote, but he has been working hard to capture support. A brochure mailed to South Carolina voters features a photo of a prayerful Romney in coat and tie, his head bowed and eyes closed, along with a signed pledge to be true to "my faith" as president. It just doesn't say which one. Many Protestant evangelicals don't consider Mormons true Christians.
