ABSTRACT
As the 2008 presidential campaign began, a growing number of analysts and political strategists pondered whether the enthusiasm of evangelical Protestants for Republican candidates and their policies might be waning.1 After all, much had changed since the initial Bush victory in the presidential election of 2000. The Christian Right had become more fragmented and less significant politically. A new generation of evangelical voters appeared to be emerging, one apparently more environmentally sensitive and less reflexively Republican in their preferences. And, finally, the ongoing conflict in Iraq, rising oil prices, and a stagnant economy had largely pushed social issues off the table.
