It has been decades since white Christian clergy were elected to the U.S. Congress as Democrats, but a dozen candidates are hoping to change that in this November’s midterm elections.
“Democratic Party is seeing a rise of white clergy candidates,” reported The Guardian, which found a dozen white Christian faith leaders already have announced they’re running and a dozen and a half more are weighing it.
The candidates include:
- Justin Douglas in Pennsylvania. He’s a former student at Liberty University in church ministry for two decades. He’s running against far-right Republican Scott Perry.
- Sarah Trone Garriott, a former Evangelical Lutheran pastor in Iowa. Her campaign website identifies her as: “Minister. Mother. Leader.” “She is the only Democrat in Iowa to flip multiple districts while representing a district won by Donald Trump,” says the website.
- James Talarico in Texas, who quotes the Bible in his campaign literature.
- Matt Schultz, a pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Alaska. His motto: “Faith. Fairness. A future for all.”
- Robb Ryerse, a progressive Arkansas pastor who is running with a slogan beloved by GOP politicians: “Faith, Family & Freedom.”
Ryerse, a former fundamentalist Baptist and conservative Republican who ran unsuccessfully in 2018, works for Vote Common Good, which seeks to offer an “alternative to MAGA Trumpism.” He wrote the 2020 book Running for Our Lives: A Story of Faith, Politics, and the Common Good.
Vote Common Good seeks faith-based candidates and previously helped elect Rep. Katie Porter, Rep. Ted Lieu and Sen. John Fetterman. On Jan. 13, the group will host a discussion with James Talarico on “The Role of Faith in Democracy.” (BNG previously reported on Vote Common Good, which was founded in the wake of Trump’s 2016 victory.)
Evangelical Christians helped elect Baptist Jimmy Carter president in 1976, but since then, evangelicals have largely flocked to the GOP.
According to Pew Research, Christians made up 88% of the 117th Congress, which took office in 2021, with 294 members self-identifying as Protestants, 158 as Catholics and 66 as Baptists. Pew reported 99% of Republicans in the House and Senate identify as Christians.
But many Democrats feel Christians who serve in Congress as Republicans have failed to honor Christ with their votes or with their support for President Donald Trump, who has unilaterally cut programs benefitting families, the working poor, immigrants and needy people around the world.
Christian Democrats believe faith should play a role in the nation’s politics but oppose the Christian nationalist emphasis of many evangelical Republicans.
The last white Christian clergy to serve in Congress as Democrats were Catholic priests Robert Drinan (1971-81) and Robert John Cornell (1975-79) and United Methodist minister Bob Edgar (1975-87), according to Religion News Service.
Currently, two Black clergy serve in Congress as Democrats: Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock and Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. Warnock is pastor of the Atlanta church once led by Martin Luther King Jr.
GOP-loving evangelicals are skeptical about some of the new Democratic candidates, and so are some Democrats. Alaska’s Matt Schultz says he has encountered some skepticism from Democrats who think there’s already too much religion in U.S. politics.
Polls show Democrats have a “modest advantage” heading into the 2026 midterm elections, according to The New York Times.
A recent NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll shows Democrats have “a 14-point lead against the Republicans among registered voters nationally on the 2026 generic congressional ballot question.” Marist said, “This is the first time in more than three years that Democrats have had a notable advantage on the congressional generic ballot question.”
Chances for Democrats have improved as Trump’s approval rating, which has slipped 17 points since he returned to office in January 2025, currently sits at 39%. Trump’s favorability has suffered as Americans say he has not done enough to fulfill his campaign promise to “make America affordable again.”