The New York Times Caucus blog reports that a prominent evangelical who had endorsed him is taking it back:
The Rev. Don Wilton, who is the immediate past president of the Southern Baptist Convention in South Carolina, was one of an array of conservative endorsements the campaign had unveiled in the days leading up to and into the Values Voter Summit in Washington.
The Baptist Press quotes Mr. Wilton as saying: “While I did give my consent to the local campaign to use my affirmation of the governor’s stance on family values in my capacity as an individual citizen, I made the mistake of not realizing the extent to which it would be used on a national basis. It was my personal error to agree to support Romney’s campaign. Until this incident I had never endorsed any person running for any elected office, Democrat or Republican…. While I will vote my constitutional right as an American citizen, and while I implore all eligible Americans to do the same, I will continue to use my personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ as the only standard by which I determine who to vote for in any election.”
God-o-Meter scratches its head, wondering whether Wilkie means that his relationship with Jesus made him reconsider backing a Mormon for president–or just made him think twice about taking on such a partisan and visible politial role.
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