Democratic Pastors Campaign on Faith and Progressive Policies

Democratic candidates who are also pastors are campaigning this year by connecting their Christian faith to support for government aid programs and progressive social policies. One candidate, the only Democratic pastor currently serving in Congress, described his faith tradition as one that views justice as a central scriptural theme and judges nations by their treatment of the poor.

He said the tradition was born fighting for freedom and requires bearing witness against division. Three other Democratic candidates who are pastors or seminarians are running for Congress in Texas, Iowa, and Kansas. They are presenting their support for expanded government benefits and changing social policies as consistent with their religious beliefs.

Republican opponents have criticized the candidates' positions on issues including LGBTQ+ rights and abortion. One state official called a Texas candidate's views blasphemous and said the candidate would go to hell. A national Republican campaign committee questioned whether another Democratic lawmaker agreed with what it called fake-faith, open-borders, anti-family extremism.

The candidates cite different Christian traditions than those emphasized by some Republican officeholders. One candidate referenced a 2021 podcast appearance in which he discussed his pastor's roots in a Christian anarchist tradition and said he was a Christian who hates Christianity.

A Democratic lawmaker from Delaware said the Republican Party could return to positions it held twenty years ago if it wished. The sitting senator has discussed faith and politics ahead of a book release and previously wrote that the Black church cannot be radical on racial justice while reactionary on other forms of equality.