John Stemberger, the leader of an influential anti-gay and anti-abortion group in Florida, has announced his endorsement of Rick Santorum in the GOP presidentialĀ primary.
The New York TimesĀ reported yesterday:
John Stemberger, president of Florida Family Action, on Monday became one of the first evangelical leaders to switch his support to Rick Santorum after a meeting of evangelicals in Texas last weekĀ voted to supportĀ Mr. Santorum in his bid for the 2012 Republican nomination.
Mr. Stemberger was an early supporter of Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, then recently he said that he believed Newt Gingrich had the best chance of winning the nomination.
Stembergerās group, the Florida Family Policy Council/Florida Family Action, has already begun gearing up for the upcoming election by reaching out to religious voters. In November, StembergerĀ started āProject Active Citizenā to get as many religious voters to the pollsĀ as possible. In an email to supporters asking for donations to the project, he described it asĀ āan effort ā¦ to help encourage thousands of pro-life and pro-family Floridians to register to vote.ā
Stemberger has also begun to distribute voter guides specifically directed at pastors. Stemberger explains in the guides how pastors can legally influence voters.
Project Active Citizen is just one of a handful of campaigns or events that have come on the heels of Stembergerās involvement in theĀ Florida Renewal Projectās Pastorsā Policy Briefing. The ābriefingā was held to involve churches and religious leaders in elections. Media outlets were barred from the event and aĀ reporter was even escorted awayĀ from a meeting between presidential candidates Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich and pastors.Ā Since the briefing, Stemberger helped lead aĀ religious right get-out-the-vote eventĀ that took place in about 100 churches all over the country ā including 34 in Florida.
