I saw this on the wire this afternoon.WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Republican presidential candidate Sam Brownback met Wednesday with influential evangelical leaders and said religious conservatives are moving in his direction as they learn more about his anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage views.Brownback’s meeting with 15 to 20 evangelical pastors came as the Kansas senator maps out his strategy for the Aug. 11 straw poll in Ames.”It’s typical in an election that people hold back and want to get a good feel for the candidate,” said Brownback. “Now we’re getting within eyeshot of Aug. 11 and they’re breaking and a lot of them are breaking our way.”![][1]Although big-name candidates, such as Rudy Giuliani and John McCain, will skip the straw poll, the event will likely have a significant impact on the race for the GOP nomination. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is expected to finish first in the poll, and second-tier candidates like Brownback are looking to break from the pack.Brownback said evangelical Christians are an essential part of his plan.”I think it’s critical and I think we’re doing pretty well,” said Brownback. “We are reaching out aggressively to a number of communities and the evangelical is a key one of them.”Brownback spoke with reporters after meeting privately with the evangelical pastors, some of whom said his staunchly conservative message resonates with their congregations.The Rev. Bob Deever, of Grace West Church in West Des Moines, said he appreciates Brownback’s focus on the family.”He has the right heart, and family is very much faith-based,” Deever said. Nick Bal, of Walnut Creek Evangelical Church in West Des Moines, said, “People just need to know about him.”Evangelical Christians have played an important role in Iowa Republican politics since the 1987-88 presidential election cycle.TV evangelist Pat Robertson won the straw poll in that cycle, then finished second in the caucuses. Though he faded as the primary season unfolded, the strength of evangelicals in the state’s Republican politics has remained.In part, that strength is due to a tight organization and large turnout, two traits Brownback said he’s counting on.”You’ve got to get people to show up and you’ve got to get numbers of people to show up and these are communities that are well organized and generally active in the political process,” said Brownback._ – Faith Files, which examines issues of faith, spirituality, morals and ethics, is updated by features/faith reporter Terry Rombeck. Have an idea for the blog? Contact Terry at trombeck@ljworld.com, or 832-7145._ [1]: http://216.104.171.71/NCA_wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/sam-brownback.jpg