No political issue over the last half-century has mobilized evangelical Christian voters more effectively than abortion. Yet going into next month’s Republican presidential caucuses in Iowa, where evangelicals are a strong presence, the candidates with the strongest anti-abortion stances are lagging in the polls. Former President Donald Trump, who called Florida’s ban on abortion after six weeks “a terrible mistake,” retains a large lead.

Support for Trump despite his hedging on abortion may be largely a question of gratitude, since he named three U.S. Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn a constitutional right to abortion. But it also suggests that many evangelicals now support Trump for reasons other than that longstanding priority.