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TechnoratiMeanwhile in Tennessee, 34 percent of all white evangelicals ranked jobs and economy the most important issue, while 19 percent considered abortion and same-sex “marriage” the most important. There, 8 percent chose Iraq; 8 percent, health care; 6 percent, education; 6 percent, immigration; 5 percent, terrorism; and 4 percent, taxes).
The new Zogby poll corresponds with a Barna survey released earlier this month which found a growing number of born again Christian voters were shifting towards the Democratic Party.
Forty percent of all born again adults who would likely vote in November, would choose the Democratic candidate, and only 29 percent would choose the Republican candidate if the general election was held the day the survey was conducted. The remaining 28 percent were unsure who they would support.
“Evangelicals are clearly sending a message to Republican leaders this time around,” commented George Barna, whose firm conducted the national survey. “There is tremendous frustration among evangelical voters, in particular … given the stands of some of the leading Republican contenders, evangelicals are registering their discomfort with the choices they have at hand.”
Barna added, “As in recent elections, a key to victory in November will be the faith vote. Unlike the past couple of presidential races…the born again and evangelical vote is up for grabs.”
Both the Zogby poll and the Barna study showed that Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) was more popular among white evangelicals than Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) among white born again Christians.
Clinton had greater support from white evangelicals compared to Obama in Missouri, 54 to 37 percent, and in Tennessee, 78 to 12 percent, according to Zogby.
The Zogby poll considered voters evangelicals if they self-identified themselves as either “born-again or evangelical Christian” in the exit poll.
The Barna group was more specific and gave separate definitions for Born-again Christians and evangelicals. Born again Christians are people who responded that they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and have indicated they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they have confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Evangelicals are a subgroup under Born-again Christians and meet seven other conditions, according to Barna.
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