Adam Hamilton carries a worn copy of the Gospels in his pocket as he campaigns for a US Senate seat in Kansas. The founder and pastor of the Church of the Resurrection, a United Methodist megachurch, says his faith is the central story of his life and that he wants to remain a follower of Christ above all else.

Hamilton’s campaign links Christian teachings with a moderate Democratic platform focused on issues including healthcare, education, families and social protection. Polls suggest he has a significant chance of defeating Republican Roger Marshall and becoming the first Democratic senator from Kansas in 94 years.

Hamilton is part of a broader group of at least a dozen pastors, seminarians and former clergy members who entered Democratic congressional primaries this year. Most ran in conservative states, and several now face competitive general-election races against Republicans in places such as Kansas and Texas.

The candidates are challenging the idea that Christianity belongs exclusively to the political right. Their campaigns present the Gospel’s call to love one’s neighbour as a basis for supporting public healthcare, higher wages, immigrant protections and opposition to social cuts. They also argue that their religious beliefs are consistent with Democratic principles.

This approach marks a significant shift from recent decades, during which Christian religious language became closely associated with Republicans. White Protestant voters who once supported Democrats increasingly moved toward the Republican Party from the 1990s onward, while Democrats became more urban and secular.

Political analyst and pollster Frank Luntz says Americans remain broadly religious but do not necessarily want religion imposed on public life. At the same time, he argues, many voters do not want faith removed from the public sphere.

Hamilton’s religious profile is especially prominent. He founded the Church of the Resurrection at the age of 25. The church now has about 24,000 members across nine locations in Kansas, Missouri and Ohio, and Hamilton has written more than 30 books.

He was a Republican for years and considered running as an independent before announcing in May that he would leave the pulpit and seek office as a Democrat. During his campaign, he has discussed the cost of healthcare, fuel and fertiliser alongside his religious convictions, while promoting a message of “leading from the centre”.

Other candidates are using similar language. In Texas, James Talarico, a 37-year-old Presbyterian seminarian on leave from his studies, won the Democratic Senate nomination after building a profile as a critic of Christian nationalism and reactionary cultural politics. Speaking after his nomination, he invoked the commandment to love one’s neighbour as a defence of diversity, including people who do not look, worship or vote like him.

Talarico will face Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The race has become one of the most closely watched examples of Democratic candidates attempting to compete for Christian voters in a traditionally Republican environment.

Another Texas candidate, Reverend Frederick Douglass Haynes III, is seeking a seat in the House of Representatives in the Dallas area. Haynes led Friendship-West Baptist Church for four decades, growing its membership from 83 to more than 13,000. His platform includes a living wage, universal healthcare and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Women are also part of the trend. In Iowa, Lutheran minister Sarah Trone Garriott and pastor Lindsay James are competing for House seats. Both say their faith informs their politics without dictating it. Other clergy candidates include Robb Ryerse in Arkansas, Anna Golladay and Chaz Molder in Tennessee, and Ben McAdams in Utah, who highlights his experience teaching Sunday school.

The effort is not aimed primarily at changing the loyalties of white evangelical voters, a key constituency for Donald Trump. According to the Public Religion Research Institute, white evangelicals make up 13% of the US population but often account for roughly 20% of voters because of their high turnout. Around eight in ten voted for Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024.

Instead, Democratic candidates are seeking to mobilise other religious voters. They generally avoid making abortion and LGBTQ rights the centre of their appeals to evangelicals, issues on which Democrats have struggled with that electorate. Their campaigns focus instead on immigration raids, healthcare cuts, inequality, minimum wages and labour rights as moral concerns.

Republicans have responded by challenging the religious credentials of their opponents. Joe Mitchell, who is running against James in Iowa, accused Democratic clergy candidates of being pastors in name only. Paxton has described Talarico’s beliefs as the opposite of Christianity, while Vice President J. D. Vance has questioned Hamilton’s status as a genuine believer.

The attacks have not so far stopped the races in Kansas and Texas from becoming highly competitive. But Luntz warns that religious messaging alone will not be enough for Democrats to win. Voters, he says, ultimately prioritise the practical challenge of securing a good life, including the ability to pay their bills.

Sources: El País Internacional.