Trump risks Iowa loss as evangelicals seek candidate without 'so much baggage': columnist

Donald Trump hasn’t yet closed the deal with Iowa evangelicals, and that could be a problem for the former president in the Hawkeye State, columnist Henry Olsen writes for The Washington Post.

Iowa has a history of catapulting candidates with strong evangelical credentials including Republicans Pat Buchanan in 1996, Pat Robertson in 1988 and Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1976.

But Olsen determined after interviewing evangelical pastors and grass-roots leaders that Trump isn't a certainty to get that boost. Many Iowa voters remain undecided.

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?

Olsen wrote that, “Their message was surprisingly uniform: Iowa’s evangelicals haven’t made up their minds yet. Many retain affinity for Trump and might still back the former president. But they are taking advantage of the candidates’ frequent trips here to kick the tires and see whether there’s someone they like better — someone, I was repeatedly told, without so much baggage.”

Olsen writes that churchgoing Sioux County evangelicals aren’t just looking at other candidates, but that “not a single person I spoke to was planning to support Trump in the caucuses, although they all said they would grudgingly vote for him in the general election.”

Rev. Joel Kok of Covenant Christian Reformed Church told Olsen: “If you want someone to focus on the policies, it might be better to get away from Trump.”

Olsen nevertheless found that sympathy exists for the former president.

Olsen writes that, “John Klompien, pastor of Calvary Christian Reformed Church, spoke for many when he posited that the indictments and their extensive media coverage were being used to keep the focus on Trump and thereby ‘draw attention away from other candidates who could defeat [President] Biden.’”

Read the full article here.