Candidates of all parties are struggling to craft messages that will resonate with evangelical and born-again Christians.
Born-again voters will cast about half of all ballots in the next presidential election, according to The Barna Group. It defines a "born-again" believer as someone who has a personal commitment to Christ and who says they will go to Heaven when they die.
While Republicans continue to attract the most born-again Christian voters, Democrats are gaining ground. Christians factored heavily in the 2000 and 2004 elections and David Kinnaman, president of The Barna Research Group, said there's no reason to believe they won't do so again in '08. He said candidates must understand and reflect the faith of values voters if they want to connect.
"You can't just misrepresent yourself in order to get votes," he said. Candidates must "understand the heartbeat, the passion, the commitments, the values, the interests, the lifestyles of people of faith, because they represent such a huge segment of the voting population. They really cannot be ignored."
