The group Evangelicals for Harris hopes to sway some conservative Christian voters
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The vast majority of people who describe themselves as evangelical Christians voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and again in 2020. Some supporters of Vice President Harris see a gap between the Republican candidate and the values of evangelical voters, and they're pushing on that gap. NPR religion correspondent Jason DeRose reports.
JASON DEROSE, BYLINE: Evangelicals for Harris is running a series of digital ads, including this one, showcasing Trump's lack of repentance.
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FRANK LUNTZ: Have you ever asked God for forgiveness?
DONALD TRUMP: That's a tough question. I'm not sure I have. I just - I don't bring God into that picture. I don't.
DEROSE: Another ad featuring Kamala Harris is called "Fruits Of The Spirit."
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VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Faith motivates action. It lifts us up, and it gives us purpose.
DEROSE: The group is focusing on swing states. Self-described evangelical Christian and Milwaukee resident Patricia Ruiz-Cantu signed up to help.
PATRICIA RUIZ-CANTU: Here in Wisconsin, we're doing faith rallies. And we bring different congregations together to talk about values and to hear what their concerns are and try to figure out how we can work together.
DEROSE: Together on issues deeply rooted in Ruiz-Cantu's Christian faith.
RUIZ-CANTU: In the Bible, it talks to us about loving our neighbor like we love ourselves. Jesus Christ came for the needy. You know, it says, I'm going to ask you, did you see me hungry, and did you feed me? Did you see me thirsty? Did you give me water? So those are some of the examples of values of caring, of compassion, love.
DEROSE: Among Evangelicals for Harris' key issues - health care, poverty and the environment. The founder, Reverend Jim Ball, calls these family values because they support real families, and he selected those values because the Bible tells him so.
JIM BALL: Jesus was on the side of the vulnerable. He was always helping the vulnerable. And so we have a particular concern for the vulnerable in our society. And so we look and say, well, whose policies are more in keeping with protecting the vulnerable and defending the vulnerable?
DEROSE: And for Ball, the answer is Kamala Harris, a message resonating with the more than 200,000 people who've signed up so far, including some less likely folks.
LEE SCOTT: I'm a registered Republican. I have been since I registered to vote at age 18. Cast my first vote for George W. Bush.
DEROSE: Lee Scott is a Presbyterian minister in Pittsburgh. He's talking with friends, family and other clergy in his swing state about why he's supporting the Harris-Walz campaign. It's a nuanced and complicated conversation.
SCOTT: They've got a ton of policy positions that I personally don't endorse. Like, we're very far apart on the issue of abortion. But we have to do more than just say, abortion - bad.
DEROSE: And Scott hears from Harris answers to his questions.
SCOTT: How are we then going to support new mothers? How are we going to put funding behind that? And that's a part of her plan. I love that she wants to expand the child tax credit.
DEROSE: Still, many conservative Christians have pushed back hard against Evangelicals for Harris, including Michael Brown who used a recent episode of his popular "Line Of Fire" podcast and radio show to argue the issue of abortion is a deal-breaker.
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MICHAEL BROWN: That one alone because it touches the most innocent, the most vulnerable - that one alone because of what the Bible says about the shedding of innocent blood and doing anything to harm the little ones.
DEROSE: To be sure, the message of Evangelicals for Harris won't resonate with most conservative Christians, says Democrat and Texas state representative James Talarico. But the seminary student argues it doesn't have to.
JAMES TALARICO: We don't have to win everybody. We just have to win enough to win this election.
DEROSE: ...And then demonstrate that Democrats can deliver on the biblical values Evangelicals for Harris campaigned on.
Jason DeRose, NPR News.
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