Democratic Candidates-Progressive Pastors
Rev. Sarah Trone Garriott, a Lutheran pastor and Iowa state senator, celebrates communion at Grace Lutheran Church in Des Moines, Iowa on Sunday, March 15, 2026.
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More Democrats are openly running on faith, as progressive clergy and other religious candidates push back on the idea that Christianity belongs to the right. Candidates include James Talarico, a Texas seminarian running for Senate, and several ordained ministers running in Iowa for Congress. Experts say many Democrats avoid religious talk because the party is diverse and has many nonreligious voters. In the 2024 election, most white evangelicals backed Trump. Democratic Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear also leans into faith with a new book amid speculation he will run for president in 2028.