As Democrats seek votes in Texas and Iowa, a group of congressional candidates is bringing Christian faith directly into the campaign conversation — linking biblical teachings to issues including health care, poverty, immigration and economic opportunity. At least six Democratic congressional candidates in the 2026 midterm cycle are ordained clergy or studying for ministry, including candidates in competitive races. Their public appeals come in states where religion remains prominent in public life, even as Democrats’ voters are less likely than Republicans’ voters to describe religion as central to their lives. A 2023-24 Pew Research Center survey found that 28% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning adults said religion was very important to them. In Houston, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico, a Texas state representative and seminary student, recently spoke from the pulpit at Brentwood Baptist Church. He connected grief over the country’s political turmoil with Christian teachings, telling the congregation that people who mourn the nation’s condition still have compassion. Talarico has argued that a personal commitment to Christianity is compatible with keeping government independent of religion. At a town hall attended by nearly 700 people, he warned that theocracy can make political power more dangerous when leaders believe they act on God’s behalf. He has also criticized what he calls Christian nationalism and said the ideology has influenced the Trump administration. Republican Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has accused Talarico of blasphemy, while Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton has questioned whether Talarico is genuine about his faith. Talarico has answered some of the criticism by arguing that policies that harm sick people to finance tax cuts for wealthy people violate Christian principles. The Texas Democrat is not alone in making faith part of his political case. In Dallas, Frederick Haynes, the Democratic nominee in the 30th Congressional District and longtime pastor of the 13,000-member Friendship-West Baptist Church, says his ministry’s focus on people harmed by economic and social systems informs his campaign. He entered the race after redistricting eliminated one of Texas’ two predominantly Black congressional districts, according to Haynes. Haynes has described his approach as rooted in the Gospel of Luke’s call to bring good news to the poor and help people who are marginalized. His Republican opponent, businessman Everett Jackson, has accused him of politicizing the gospel. Haynes has also convened an interfaith forum on housing affordability and voting rights, attended by Christian leaders and Muslims. Supporter Ali Asgar Alibhai, a University of Texas at Dallas professor, said relationships with progressive faith communities have helped build solidarity across religious lines. In Iowa, state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, an ordained Lutheran pastor and Democratic candidate for the 3rd Congressional District, has connected the Good Samaritan parable to government’s responsibility to help people who are overlooked. Her Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, has criticized her over a story she has told about assisting at a wedding for a couple who identified as Satanists during her seminary internship. Trone Garriott has said the experience illustrates the power of scripture. Lindsay James, a Presbyterian chaplain and four-term Iowa state representative, is the Democratic nominee in the 2nd Congressional District. At the Bremer County Fair in Waverly, she discussed health care concerns with residents, including the effects of federal funding reductions on public health and emergency medical services. James said nearly 27,000 people in the district were at risk of losing health coverage because of federal health care spending cuts. She has described her work as a chaplain as a lesson in listening, offering hope and telling the truth. James and Trone Garriott have also faced attacks from Republican opponents over their support for transgender rights. At an evangelical summit, Republican candidate Joe Mitchell called the two women “pastors in name only,” disputing their understanding of Christianity. For the Democratic candidates, religious language is both a statement of personal conviction and a way to explain their policy priorities to voters. But some voters are wary of religion entering political debate. In Houston, voter Kristin Kott said she would be turned off by faith being tied to policy, while other attendees said Talarico’s approach felt welcoming rather than divisive. The candidates’ opponents are making the disagreement explicit: not only over what government should do, but over who gets to claim a religious tradition in public life. Voters in Texas and Iowa will decide whether these Democrats’ arguments about faith and public service resonate at the ballot box.