I told you so. The Brody File has been talking to voters and experts across the country over this last year and detected a gradual shift of born again Christians who have become more sympathetic to the Democratic Party. Well, guess what? The very well respected Barna Research Group confirms it. Read below:
One of the most reliable constituencies of the Republican Party in recent years has been born again Christians. A new national survey of likely voters conducted by The Barna Group, however, shows that the Republicans have lost the allegiance of many born again voters. The November election is truly up for grabs - and if the election were held today, most born again voters would select the Democratic Party nominee for president, whoever that might be.
Compared to recent presidential elections, the current leanings of the born again constituency have reversed. The new Barna study shows that if the election were to be held today, 40% of all born again adults who are likely to vote in November would choose the Democratic candidate and just 29% would choose the Republican candidate. The remaining 28% are currently not sure whom they would choose, preferring to make their selection on the basis of the candidate than strictly on the basis of his or her party affiliation.
George Barna, whose firm conducted the national survey, indicated that Republicans have an uphill climb with the born again voters. "Given the large percentage of undecided voters, it is possible that the Republican candidate might eventually win a majority of the born again vote," he explained. "However, it will not be easy to win them over. Several factors are operating against the Republican's prospects in this election, related to both social issues and the personal integrity of several of the candidates."
If the election were held today, and all of the remaining candidates from both parties were on the ballot, the frontrunners among born again voters would be Hillary Clinton (favored by 20% fo born again likely voters), Barack Obama (18%) and Mike Huckabee (12%). No other candidate reached double figures. Thirty percent of the born again likely voters said they were still undecided as to who they would choose.
The Democratic Party has made a concerted effort to reach out to Evangelicals and they are starting to see it pay dividends. Also, while the life and marriage are very important issues, other issues such as climate change, national security and immigration have made the equation more complicated. You know what this means right? If Barack Obama is the nominee, he could very well tap into this born-again Christian audience big time. And don't count Hillary out either. She has a faith narrative too and all bets are off regarding born-again Christians. They are up for grabs now more than ever.