Inside the Beltway

By Jennifer Harper – The Washington Times Oh, ye of big faith. Like, really big faith. The largest single constituency in the electorate in the midterm elections was “self-identified evangelicals,” who comprised 29 percent of the vote and cast a hefty 78 percent of their ballots for Republican candidates, according to new findings from the Faith and Freedom Coalition. Turnout by conservative folks of faith was up by 5 percent over 2006 – the largest ever recorded in a midterm election, the group says. The survey also found that 52 percent of all “tea party” members are conservative evangelicals; 57 percent also say both lawmakers and political leaders are “ignoring our religious heritage.” The survey of 1,000 voters was conducted Nov. 2. “People of faith turned out in the highest numbers in a midterm election we have ever seen, and they made an invaluable contribution to the historic results,” saysRalph Reed, chairman of the 400,000-member group. “This survey, along with numerous exit polls, makes clear that those who ignore or disregard social conservative voters and their issues do so at their own peril.”