Millions of Christians Not Voting Becomes ‘Five-Alarm Fire’ for Trump

Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk warned that millions of born-again and mainline Christians choosing not to vote in the upcoming election could pose a serious threat to Donald Trump’s reelection efforts.
Citing survey data from pollster George Barna, Kirk described the situation as a “five-alarm fire” for Trump, noting that 41 million born-again Christians and 32 million mainline Christians are not planning to vote.
“The local church must be activated to explain why voting is critical,” Kirk wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, urging Christian leaders to rally their congregations to the polls.
“We cannot expect President Trump to have a more Christian ethos if the Church refuses to vote. We cannot expect President Trump to be more pro-life if our own people don’t back him up at the ballot box. The local church MUST be activated,” Kirk said.
Trump has heavily courted white conservative evangelicals since entering politics nearly a decade ago. He is now selling Trump-themed Bibles, touting the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and encouraging Christians to vote for him.
According to AP VoteCast, a broad survey of voters, about 8 in 10 white evangelical voters cast a ballot for Trump in 2020.
However, the potential voter shortfall comes at a time when Trump is facing challenges in maintaining support among Christian pastors.
A recent Lifeway Research poll revealed a shift in his support among evangelical pastors since 2020. In the new poll, 61 percent of evangelical pastors said they plan to vote for Trump, down from 68 percent in September 2020.
In the broader race, Trump held a 32-point lead over President Joe Biden in 2020 (53 percent to 21 percent), while the current poll shows him with a 26-point lead over Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris (50 percent to 24 percent).
The decline in Trump’s support among Christian and evangelical groups comes as the former president faces widespread criticism from these movements for his wavering stance on abortion during this campaign. Trump has repeatedly downplayed the importance of abortion, stating that it is no longer a “big factor” in elections and predicting it will become “a very small issue” in this year’s vote.
Moreover, Trump recently criticized Florida’s six-week abortion ban, calling it “too short” and suggesting more time should be allowed before restricting abortion access, igniting backlash from anti-abortion advocates.
Although Trump later reversed his stance, the damage to his reputation among staunch anti-abortion supporters, such as Southern Baptist leader Albert Mohler, had already been done. Mohler, a prominent figure in conservative Christian politics, warned that Trump’s inconsistent positions might lead conservative Christian voters to either stay home or reconsider their choices in November.
Meanwhile, grassroots efforts like Evangelicals for Harris are working to persuade disillusioned evangelical voters to support Harris or sit out the election altogether. Reverand Jim Ball, the group’s president, said its focus is on mobilizing evangelical voters in swing states who may no longer feel comfortable supporting Trump but are hesitant to back a Democrat.