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Three progressive Democratic Senate candidates are folding religious language into their campaign messaging, drawing explicit comparisons between their policy positions and the teachings of Jesus Christ.
The tactic mirrors the faith-based coalition-building Republicans deployed in the late 1970s, when the Moral Majority formed as the GOP sought to tie policy to Christian identity ahead of Ronald Reagan's candidacy.
Angie Nixon delivered the most direct version of the argument. Speaking at Saint Paul AME Church in Jacksonville, she told the congregation that opponents labeling her an extremist were missing a historical point.
"Jesus was a radical," Nixon said, arguing that Christ pushed for the same things she is fighting for today. She framed the current moment as a civil rights period, whether people choose to accept that framing or not.
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