In Iowa for Faith & Freedom, Republican contenders face tricky balance

When the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition plays host to nine Republican White House hopefuls this weekend, the conservative Christian group will simply be pursuing its stated mission to "take back our state and country." But the Republican contenders who will speak at the group's annual Spring Kick-Off face a more delicate balance: How to address pressure from the Christian group to toe the conservative line on a number of social issues such as abortion and gay marriage without alienating members of the broader party who are more focused on the economy or foreign policy. Iowa holds the country's first nominating contests with its caucuses, giving the small, Midwestern state an outsized role in the presidential scrum. “Certainly Christian conservatives will be up to half of all the likely caucus goers,” said Doug Gross, who chaired Mitt Romney’s 2008 Iowa campaign.

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