The candidates continued to slam gay marriage during the event, which has increased in acceptance nationwide but continues to be a core target of the Republican Party going into the election.
The 2016 presidential campaign just took a big step forward as nine Republican presidential candidates gathered in the early battleground state of Iowa to make their pitches to more than 1,000 attendees, and they were all there to slam the persecution of Christians in the United States and further launch attacks against gay marriage.
Saturday’s Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition in Waukee, Iowa, allowed 2016 Republican candidates to jockey for position in the first such multicandidate event to include a number of candidates who have already declared their intentions to run, and several appear just about ready to do so, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The contenders used the platform to talk about religious freedoms being under fire and the need to protect Christianity, as well as the importance of ensuring the America remains strong overseas, all seeking to position themselves as the anti-Obama.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was one of the most popular figures at the event, and he often drew loud applause during his address when he stumped for religious liberty in an impassioned message to voters.
Cruz has officially announced his candidacy, as well as other speakers Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Three others, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, and neurosurgeon Ben Carson, are all expect to announced their own candidacies in a matter of days.
Republican candidates had gathered in New Hampshire last week, but this event was noticeably absent of attacks on Common Core national education standards and entitlement programs. Speakers at this event seemed more honed in on a religious message and on the future of American values.
The speakers also refrained from going after each other during the event, and some even praised each other, with Huckabee complimenting an opinion piece by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal that slammed gay marriage, and Cruz told Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker after he had left the stage that it was a “tremendous array of candidates.”
