Right-wing political consultant Ralph Reed’s Faith & Freedom Coalition, which is widely credited for keeping white evangelical support for Trump after the leak of his infamous "Access Hollywood" video, will spend $42 million on midterms.
Reed was a key founder of the Religious Right movement in the United States and now he's vowing to recruit Black and Latino evangelicals by appealing to anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion sentiments within those demographics.
Faith & Freedom Coalition leader Timothy Head told Christian Post that FAF was already working in 24 states with the goal of knocking on 8.2 million doors. Reed is based in Georgia, one of states that will get the most FAF attention along with North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, California and Colorado.
No Congressional, Senate, gubernatorial or state legislature race will be neglected with over 43 million “Christian voter guides” distributed and 33 million video ads going online. U.S. Senate races and governorships will be FAF’s primary focus.
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FAF is designated by the IRS as a 501(c)4 which means it does not pay taxes but donations to it are not tax deductible. A 501(c)4 must not be organized for profit and must be operated exclusively to promote social welfare. However, FAF’s website is devoted to political issues although it lists alleviating poverty as a goal.
Timothy Head has posted statements on the FAF website condemning the FBI raid on Mar A Lago and a September 2nd condemnation of Pres. Joe Biden’s speech calling for Americans to save democracy as “the most politically divisive address this country has ever heard.” It also posted a Federalist Society article praising former Pres. Donald Trump’s “double win” court ruling on a special master.
On FAF’s page soliciting donations, the pitch invoked the 2020 elections: “Without FAITH & FREEDOM, it would have been a blowout for the Left. Thanks to the support from many patriots, we were able to: Conduct 5.2 MILLION Personal HOME VISITS in the key battleground states…Phone more than 25 MILLION Christians to make sure they voted.”
Today, Reed’s FAF claims a database of 46 million voters. Trump has regaled evangelical audiences by telling them how he forged a relationship with Reed by phoning him in 2011 to seek advice on getting white conservative evangelical votes. And 2024 GOP presidential hopefuls still consider its support essential: When FAF had a Nashville summit in June, Trump, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Send. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) gave speeches explaining how they would rescue America.
In July, Reed broadly outlined his strategy of using laws related to minors who identify as transgender to grow alliances between white evangelicals and Black and Latino churchgoers.
“They really, really play and resonate powerfully in these minority communities," he told NPR. "Not among everybody, but it would be a minimum of 25 percent in the Black community, and it would probably be a minimum 30 percent in the Hispanic community."
Longtime Trump supporter and conservative activist, the late Foster Friess, founded Outriders. His organization has launched Harmony Meals for Black and white churches to feast together and find similar interests and goals.
