Presidential Candidates Make Pitch to Iowa's Social Conservatives

2015-09-19 16.07.38 (Des Moines, IA) Saturday evening nearly 1500 Iowans attended the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition’s 15th annual Friends of the Family Banquet at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. The banquet included a presidential candidate forum that included former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), real estate magnate Donald Trump, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, former New York Governor George Pataki, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX).

Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, and Ohio Governor John Kasich sent a video. U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush had surrogates speak on their behalf. The candidate who didn’t attend Saturday night were at an event in Michigan.

Also in attendance were U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa), Congressman David Young (R-Iowa) and Iowa Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds.

It was apparent that the crowd favorites on Saturday night were Cruz, Huckabee and Jindal. Huckabee received the most spontaneous standing ovations as he pointed out the ongoing battle for religious liberty. Voters last night also favored Jindal’s aggressive tact toward Republican leadership in Washington, DC, Hillary Clinton and Trump.

“The heart and soul of the Iowa caucuses are the evangelicals, faithful Catholics and social conservatives in the room (Saturday night). They will determine the next President of the United States. It was a pleasure to hear the candidates’ shared vision for the future of our country,” Steve Scheffler, president of the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition, said.

Watch videos of the speeches from presidential candidates and elected officials present:

Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania):