Herman Cain, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum,
Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry on Saturday will
address a group of social conservatives in Iowa opposed to gay
marriage.
About 1,000 conservatives are expected
at the nationally televised Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition's
eleventh annual Fall Banquet and Presidential Candidates Forum in Des
Moines, Iowa.
The group, part of Ralph E. Reed Jr.'s
Faith and Freedom Coalition, describes itself as “a 21st
century version of the Christian Coalition.” Reed has said his
coalition is designed to act as a bridge between the tea party
movement and evangelical voters.
Not taking part in the event is former
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
Conservatives weigh heavily in early
caucus state Iowa, where a clear favorite has yet to emerge.
This election cycle, “people are
still disenfranchised with the candidates,” Dave Davidson, host of
the weekly online radio show Stuck on Huck, told the Des
Moines Register.
“I talk to Huck people every week on
the radio, and they're still holding out,” he said, referring to
supporters of former presidential candidate and conservative
celebrity Mike Huckabee.
Pastor Cary Gordon of Sioux City's
Cornerstone church said momentum for Santorum was increasing because,
unlike Perry, Cain and Bachmann, the former Pennsylvania senator
doesn't “use the 10th Amendment as a shield” to allow
states to decide on gay marriage.
In a recent interview, Santorum
pledged to give up his life battling against marriage equality.
The event starts at 6PM and will be
televised on C-SPAN.