Leading social conservatives in Florida are launching an outreach drive that invokes the power of prayer to drive the right-leaning voting bloc to the polls.
- Face Down 40 evangelical campaign
- Push to amp up evangelicals for Donald Trump
- Blame low turnout in 2008, 2012 on McCain, Romney
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They're concerned that Florida's evangelical Christians could have lower voter turnout.
Dubbed "Face Down 40," a reference to prayer during the final 40 days of the general election campaign, the effort is only the latest attempt to rekindle the power of the evangelical vote, which proved decisive for former President George W. Bush's victories in 2000 and 2004 but failed to turn out in comparable numbers in 2008 and 2012.
"If we go back to sleep again, just like we've done so many times, then we're in trouble and it's on us," said Pam Olsen, a prominent Florida social conservative and organizer of Face Down 40.
While Olsen admits evangelicals have reason to be skeptical of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Thrice married, he once supported abortion rights and as recently as eight years ago belonged to the Democratic Party.
But Olsen views his conversions on key social conservative issues as genuine and deserving of support.
"It's the time for (evangelicals) to fast, pray and then vote for truth of the gospel, who will stand for the side of life, who will stand for the unborn child, and then, get involved," Olsen said. "Pray and get involved. Hold your leaders' feet to the fire and say, 'you will do what's right'."
By some estimations, evangelical Christians make up a quarter of the Florida electorate, making them an important constituency in an important swing state. Olsen blames their sub-par turnout in the last two presidential elections on the Republican nominees, John McCain and Mitt Romney, who shunned discussion of red meat social conservative issues like abortion.
If conservatives are working to rally evangelicals, however, so, too, is Hillary Clinton. The Democratic nominee has lately been looking to pick off Republican-leaning Christian voters incensed by Trump's at times questionable behavior, which Clinton says doesn't square with the teachings of her Methodist Church.
"Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can," Clinton said of the church's philosophy during a campaign stop in Fort Pierce last week.