Faith and Freedom Coalition executive director Timothy Head outlined what he believes are the key issues for faith-based voters in the state as the second Republican presidential debate, and the 2024 presidential election, in an interview with The Georgia Star News on Friday.
Head (pictured above) told The Georgia Star News that Fulton County’s racketeering case against former President Donald Trump looms large over Georgia’s political landscape, likely drawing even more Republicans in The Peach State to the former president, but added that the economy will likely be the single, largest issue in voters’ minds as they cast ballots in 2024.
Aside from the economy, and making President Joe Biden a one-term president, Head said Georgia’s faith-based, evangelical voters are particularly interested in presidential candidates with policies to confront and replace “woke” school materials and teachers, promote and establish a pro-life culture in the United States, and provide continued support to Israel.
Fulton County Indictments
Head told The Georgia Star News that the indictments against Trump and 18 others who helped him contest the 2020 election have swayed the few undecided Republican voters toward the former president, making him more “sympathetic” to primary voters.
“His detractors remain detractors, his supporters remain supporters, but the indictment process,” Head said, will make “Trump more sympathetic to those” Republicans who remain “open minded” to the former president. According to Head, the more the case develops, “probably the more sympathetic Donald Trump appears.”
Head said the indictments are about more than Trump, as voters see not just “hypocrisy,” but also a “weaponized justice system” with “weaponized levers of power.”
“I’ve had three different, I would say lukewarm Trump voters from the past, just in the last few weeks, tell me the only thing that would make them enthusiastically vote for Trump again is if he was either sitting in prison or on his way to prison on Election Day in November 2024,” said Head.
The Biden Economy
Though Democrats point to indicators of recovery, Head said the economic outlook in the United States and Georgia remains dark for both businesses and individuals, and the economy may be the single, largest issue for faith-based voters come November 2024.
“The opportunities are out there, but it’s very difficult to get around [regulations],” Head told The Georgia Star News. When companies do pass regulatory hurdles, they “find it very difficult to find labor.” He suggested COVID-19 era benefits may be to blame, and acknowledged inflation’s impact on wage growth could play a role.
“It’s hard to get wages to keep up with inflation,” Head explained, describing the economy as in a “malaise.” He continued, “It feels like the economic engine is kind of stalled right now. It’s not terrible, it’s not getting better, and inflation is still alive as well.”
Ultimately, a combination of “scarce” capital, “many, many regulations,” supply chains still experiencing the “aftershocks” of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a “sluggish labor market” makes “it very difficult for a true recovery to actually begin.”
“Woke-ism” in Schools
Parents and grandparents remain deeply invested in conversations relating to Critical Race Theory, revisionist American history, and gender theory in public schools, said Head.
“Clearly when there’s a flare up surrounding any kind of woke agenda in school systems, that kind of leaps to the top of the list [of issues] very quickly among a lot of parents, and even grandparents, of school age children,” Head explained.
Accordingly, parents and families are looking for presidential candidates who are willing to confront public schools, promote school choice, and restrict “woke, run ragged, agenda laden education systems” with policies aimed at “getting rid of this overall-woke agenda that continues to proliferate” in modern education.
Pro-Life Victories
Head celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and pointed to Georgia’s six-week abortion ban as a serious victory at the state level. Still, Head said presidential candidates should provide a pro-life message, and instill confidence in pro-life voters.
“There are 24 or 25 states that have taken significant or complete restrictions on abortions,” Head added, “Georgia being one of them.” He continued, “Pro-life voters, when you win… it’s not necessarily top of mind, but you also want federal candidates who are very believable when they say they want to keep Georgia’s abortion laws in place and not roll anything back.”
He added, “There are a number of things, other than statutory things, that a president can do to cultivate a pro-life culture… I would say Georgia voters want to see a president that’s going to be willing to think, ‘Are there restrictions that can be placed on outlandish pro-choice legislative measures in California, New York, Chicago, and other places?'”
Support for Israel
Head told The Georgia Star News the Republican field of candidates offers “enough contrast” to make a conversation about continued support for Israel “worth having.”
“There is room between a few of the candidates,” said Head, adding that American voters and “especially faith-based voters” believe “Israel is important for theological and doctrinal reasons,” but also “for the strategic interest of the United States” as “a close ally in the middle east [that] can keep potential bad actors, like Iran, in check.”
Head added, “Currently, this White House, the Biden administration, is frankly enabling an Iran regime that not only threatens Israel but potentially threatens America.”
Biden’s Job Performance
Though Head acknowledged that 80 percent of faith-based voters generally vote Republican, he said Biden’s policies, and the politics of those in his administration, are further energizing the base.
“Over 80% of faith-based voters are voting with Republicans,” Head noted. “You’re finding that it’s an attraction, usually to a Republican candidate, as well as a repulsion from the Democrat candidate.”
He said, “On a personal level, it’s clear [Biden] has plenty of health related struggles, but, just holding this office enables any number of very ideologically left individuals to hold major office and have access to major power levers. Those people seem to have no reservations about pulling those power levers in as firm and radical ways as they possibly can at every opportunity.”
Head concluded that while Biden’s soaring unpopularity may boost evangelical voter enthusiasm, it will be up to the candidates to differentiate themselves.
The Faith and Freedom Coalition is a 501(c)(4) non-profit with the goal of “educating, equipping, and mobilizing people of faith and like-minded individuals to be effective citizens.” In addition to their advocacy, the group holds conferences and events featuring well-known conservative speakers.
On September 11, the Georgia Faith and Freedom Coalition will hold a sold-out Victory Dinner at the Atlanta Marriott Northwest at Galleria.
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The Star News Network’s Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for Georgia Star News and a reporter for the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Timothy Head” by Faith and Freedom Coalition and photo “Georgia Capitol” is by Ken Lund CC2.0.
