After the 2004 Presidential election, conservative evangelical leaders in Ohio were riding high. Ohioans had approved a constitutional ban on gay marriage and a surge of conservative Buckeye voters helped deliver President George W Bush's reelection. One of the fastest rising stars in the evangelical movement was Pastor Rod Parsley of Columbus's World Harvest Church. In the spring of 2005, over a thousand religious leaders packed into his church in the cornfields of central Ohio.
Parsley: For too long the values that we have held dear have been trampled underfoot while we are the largest special interest group in Ohio and in America today and I for one say, enough is enough.
Parsley launched the nonprofit Reformation Ohio, aiming to register 400,000 new voters and give aid to the poor. Other buckeye pastors like Russell Johnson started building networks of "Patriot Pastors" to help Christians learn how to be engaged in the next round of elections.
Johnson: Pastors have the ability as citizens to speak their hearts and minds on public policy. Churches aren't going to endorse candidates, but you don't have to check your citizenship at the door because you are a person of faith.
In 2006, many conservative Christians backed Ohio's Secretary of State Ken Blackwell for governor. But frustration with GOP scandals and the Iraq War seemed to take a toll on voters. Days before the 2006 election, ministers like Reverend Richard Nathan gathered at a rally in central Ohio. The message: not all pro-life Christians are lockstep in the conservative camp.
Nathan: Many evangelicals are saying, 'How did it come to be that we who claim to follow the prince of peace are the staunchest advocate of war of any demographic group in America?'
Blackwell lost. Conservative Christian leaders largely blame GOP scandals for the setback. But Pastor Russell Johnson, who recently left his church amidst allegations that he used his pulpit to back politicians, isn't deterred. He says conservative Christian organizations are gearing up for 2008.
Johnson: We believe we are citizen soldier. We're here on the homefront to get informed, get registered, get ready to vote.
The problem for values voters is who to rally around. A recent poll by the Pew Research Center found that 1 in 3 white evangelicals won't vote for a Mormon, like Republican candidate Mitt Romney. And former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a divorced Roman-Catholic who supports abortion rights, faces skepticism from people like Chris Long of the Ohio Christian Alliance.
Chris Long: I think there will be a number of people who won't vote for Rudy because of his stated positions. He has been very weak in terms of traditional marriage and that's going to weigh heavily on the values voter.
One of those voters is 51-year-old Parma business woman Diane Stover, head of the group Northeast Ohio Values Voters. She says even though conservative leaders are endorsing different candidates, they're agreed about their likely opponent: Democratic Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.
Stover: They want to end abortion in America. They want traditional judeochristian values to flourish in America. They want someone in the White House besides Hillary who's going to best represent our values.
Even though election day is months away, Stover is already thinking about what she'll do if faced with a supporter of abortion rights like Giuliani.
Stover: If he were the nominee I wouldn't be jumping up and down all excited. He wouldn't be representing the values I have. But I'd push the button for him if it's him and Hillary Clinton.
Ohio's primaries are March 4th. Mhari Saito, 90.3.