WASHINGTON (CN) — A diverse group of Republican presidential hopefuls touted their Christian values on Friday while calling for stronger abortion laws, railing against cultural issues and criticizing President Joe Biden.
Seven of the 13 declared Republican candidates spoke at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority Conference in Washington, D.C., seeking to bolster their support in a key conservative voting bloc.
One of the biggest themes of the conference’s first day was abortion, particularly the upcoming anniversary of the Supreme Court overturning the Roe v Wade decision.
The court’s ruling essentially returned the issue of abortion to the states. Since then, many states have approved outright bans on abortion, with others restricting the procedure past six weeks' gestation — well before the earliest point at which women can test for potential birth defects, typically starting at 10 weeks.
Former Vice President Mike Pence pledged to sign legislation instituting a nationwide ban on abortion at 15 weeks.
“The battle for life is far from over,” he said. “I say we must never shrink from the great moral cause of our time. And I will never rest or relent until the sanctity of life is returned to the center of American law.”
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who spoke Friday to call for federal laws on abortion, commended Pence for his pledge, saying the eventual nominee must support such a ban.
“If you can’t do that, you should not be the candidate for the Republican Party,” he said.
The candidates amplified their pro-life credentials. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said his parents met at a pro-life rally, while Pence, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis highlighted pro-life measures approved in their states.
On a six-week abortion ban in Florida, DeSantis said "It was the right thing to do. Don't let anyone tell you it wasn't."
Hutchinson said he'd sign a federal law to "restrict abortion in the United States," but didn’t provide specifics.
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said he vetoed funding for Planned Parenthood while in office, but said he also boosted opportunities for children to succeed.
“Being pro-life has to be longer than the nine months in the womb,” he said. “Every life, I was taught, is a precious gift from God. And that life doesn’t end when a child is born, it only begins.”
The candidates also highlighted their Christian faith with the evangelical crowd.
“Faith guides me in my private life and it’s important for faith to guide us in our public life as well,” Hutchinson said.
Suarez noted he receives daily scripture readings, while Pence discussed his journey and said he’s a “Christian, conservative and Republican in that order.”
Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy primarily talked about diversity measures.
“We have celebrated our diversities and our differences so much that we have forgotten all the ways we are the same as Americans,” he said. “Our diversity can be a beautiful thing, but it is meaningless if there is nothing greater that unites us across diversity.”
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott said he’s an example that people of color can succeed.
“To suggest that the only way for a child of color to make it in this nation is to be the exception and not the rule is a lie,” he said.
DeSantis primarily focused on transgender people and his fights against “woke” ideology. He railed against The Walt Disney Co. and promised to “fight the woke corporations.” DeSantis said liberals were responsible for ongoing culture wars.
“We didn't start this fire,” he said, "but as president of the United States, I will lead the effort to extinguish the fire of cultural Marxism."
Former President Donald Trump, who will speak at the conference Saturday, is by far the frontrunner in the race, with a polling average of 52.2% between June 5 and June 20, according to RealClearPolitics.
DeSantis is polling at an average of 21.4%, followed by Pence at 5.7%, Scott with 3.5%, Christie at 2.3%, Ramaswamy at 2% and Hutchinson at 0.7%. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and radio host Larry Elder, who also will speak Saturday, are at 3.6% and 0.6%, respectively.
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