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Pray for the Lord to raise up responsible leaders that will reflect a heart of God for our nation’s sake. Use and share one or more of IFA’s free resources to help you pray during this critical midterm election season:

5-day email devotional, Praying for Government

Special Report Prayer Guide: Praying for Midterms

Praying for the Government Bookmark

Intercessory Activism Prayer Guide

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. (Heb 13:7)

While 2018 is a major election year, many states have not had their primary elections yet. But as the November General Election draws closer, the nature of this year’s “mid-term” election is taking shape. A new survey by the non-partisan American Culture and Faith Institute, directed by George Barna, provides some new insights into where things stand today – and what those conditions might mean for the November outcome.

Voters’ State of Mind

ACFI interviewed a sample of 1,000 adults from across the nation and used their responses to divide them into various segments, one of which is comprised of “likely voters” in the November election. Looking only at the replies of those likely voters, ACFI discovered:

69% are angry about the state of America

66% say America is going in the wrong direction politically

68% say America is going in the wrong direction culturally

77% say America is going in the wrong direction morally

42% say America is going in the wrong direction economically

33% believe a Deep State – that is, “a group of unelected government and military officials who
secretly manipulate or direct national policy” – definitely exists

45% approve of the job Donald Trump is doing as president….

Likely to Vote

Mid-term elections traditionally generate only a minority of registered voters casting a ballot. Over the course of the three most recent mid-term General Elections (2014, 2010, 2006), the average turnout has been just 36.8% of the voting-age population….

Party Preference at the Polls

When likely voters were asked which party’s candidates they would be more likely to vote for, the Democratic Party’s candidates were in a better position than those aligned with the Republican Party. Overall, 46% of likely voters said they would support the Democratic Party candidates while only 35% lined up behind the GOP nominees. Note that an additional two out of every ten likely voters were either not yet decided or said they did not choose candidates solely based on party affiliation….

Faith and Voting

The 2016 presidential election was noteworthy for many reasons, one of which was the central role of people’s faith in their voting decisions. That argument is supported by more than three dozen national and statewide surveys conducted by ACFI during the campaign, with the results described in The Day Christians Changed America, by George Barna.

A key voter segment in 2016 was the SAGE Cons, whose name is an acronym for Spiritually Active, Governance Engaged Conservative Christians. In the 2018 election it appears that SAGE Cons will again be a cornerstone of the conservative vote. More than six out of ten are still angry about the state of the nation but their anger and concern is different from that of many other voters….

Caveats and Considerations

To place the survey results in context, George Barna, the Executive Director of ACFI, helped interpret the outcomes.

“Keep in mind we are still five months away from the General Election, and some states have not even had their primaries yet,” the veteran researcher explained. “The closer we get to Election Day, the more people will pay attention to the races in their state, and the turnout estimate will rise and the profile of ‘likely voters’ will shift. By November it is likely the projected turnout will again be in the range of 36 to 38 percent.”…

About the Research

The research described in this report is drawn from FullView™, a monthly nationwide survey with a randomly-selected sample of adults, age 18 or older, whose demographic profile reflects that of the adult population. This analysis is based on an online survey conducted among 1,000 adults during the middle of May 2018.

Survey Definitions

Born again Christians are people who consider themselves as Christian and believe that when they die they will go to Heaven only because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. Being born again is NOT based on describing oneself as “born again” and it is not based on church attendance. Born again Christians are about 30% of the adult population.

Notional Christians are people who say they are Christian but do not meet the “born again” criteria. In other words, they do not believe that they will go to Heaven after they die solely due to having confessed their sins and asked Jesus Christ to be their savior. About 40% of U.S. adults are Notional Christians….

About ACFI and Its Research

The American Culture & Faith Institute is a division of United in Purpose, a non-partisan, non-profit organization. The mission of United in Purpose is to educate, motivate and activate conservative Christians to engage in cultural transformation in ways that are consistent with biblical principles. The organization does not support or promote individual political candidates or parties….  (Excerpts from American Culture and Faith Institute)