Evangelicals for Harris: Christian Group Aims to Sway Evangelical Vote in 2024 Race

An Evangelical Christian group known as Evangelicals for Harris is working to persuade faith-based voters to support Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, arguing that she better aligns with Christian values.

White evangelical voters have traditionally been a reliable voting bloc for Republican candidates, with an overwhelming majority supporting President Donald Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. However, a new Evangelical Christian group is hoping to disrupt that trend by persuading voters of faith to see Vice President Kamala Harris as the candidate who will better uphold their values.

Evangelicals for Harris, formerly Evangelicals for Biden, was founded by Rev. Lee Scott, a Pennsylvania farmer, pastor, and registered Republican. Scott believes that President Trump has "used Christian voters to further his own ends at the expense of the faithful witness of those same voters."

Evangelicals for Harris: Christian Group Aims to Sway Evangelical Vote in 2024 Race

The group argues that Harris' policies and character are a more accurate reflection of Christian values. "Kamala's life of public service is a reflection of her faith in Christ," the website states.

Over 200,000 evangelicals have already signed a pledge to vote for Harris, according to the Evangelicals for Harris website. Scott said the coalition is growing and attracting Christians like himself who have felt "politically homeless" since Trump entered the White House.

Evangelicals for Harris: Christian Group Aims to Sway Evangelical Vote in 2024 Race

"I think that there's certainly understandable reasons for that," Scott said. "I think there's a significant crossover in personal interest and Christian interest in a lot of Republican politics. It certainly has seemed in recent years that we've set aside some of our deeper thinking on that in favor of just going through the habit of pulling the lever for the Republican candidate without really thinking deeper about what that means."

Evangelicals for Harris has faced scrutiny from conservative Christians who point to Harris' and Walz's record on abortion, gender ideology, and other issues as antithetical to Christian beliefs. However, Scott believes that Christians should consider more than just one issue when heading to the polls.

Evangelicals for Harris: Christian Group Aims to Sway Evangelical Vote in 2024 Race

"I think that there's more to it than just a simple, well, where is this candidate on abortion?" Scott said. "And you need to get past litmus test politics because we're not running a chemistry experiment."

He continued, "So much gets bandied about whether a candidate is pro-life or pro-choice. And I think too often that just gets reduced to a perspective of, 'What is their position on abortion?' I think that the matter of life far exceeds just that fact. I think that access to health care, access to an expanded child tax credit, access to support for adoption, foster care, fixing systems that are broken, in regard to those, the Democrats have a better plan."

Evangelicals for Harris: Christian Group Aims to Sway Evangelical Vote in 2024 Race

Evangelicals for Harris hopes to reach Christian voters this November through a $1 million ad campaign on YouTube, Hulu, Apple TV, Google, Facebook, and other platforms. The group has released three ads to date, including one that warns Trump is a "false prophet" and another that highlights Harris' commitment to taking care of "our neighbor."

The group's efforts have drawn attention from both supporters and critics. Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump has expressed skepticism towards Christian voters who support Democrats, while Rev. Franklin Graham, CEO of Samaritan's Purse, has criticized Evangelicals for Harris for using footage of his father, the late evangelist Billy Graham, in an attack ad against Trump.

Evangelicals for Harris: Christian Group Aims to Sway Evangelical Vote in 2024 Race

Despite the criticism, Scott remains optimistic about the group's chances of swaying evangelical voters.

"My first election was in 2004, and there was just this assumption that Christians would just naturally support the Republican candidate," Scott said. "I think that there's certainly understandable reasons for that. I think there's a significant crossover in personal interest and Christian interest in a lot of Republican politics. It certainly has seemed in recent years that we've set aside some of our deeper thinking on that in favor of just going through the habit of pulling the lever for the Republican candidate without really thinking deeper about what that means," he continued.

"I myself have felt politically homeless since 2016," the pastor confessed. "I think that Evangelicals for Harris and prior to that, the group that Reverend [Jim] Ball started as Evangelicals for Biden, is really tapping into a desire for a place for those who are feeling, as believers, somewhat politically homeless," he added.

The outcome of the 2024 presidential election remains uncertain, but the efforts of Evangelicals for Harris could potentially play a significant role in determining the outcome among evangelical voters, a demographic that has historically been a key voting bloc in U.S. presidential elections.