As evangelicals and other social conservatives gather here this weekend (June 3-4) to take the measure of a number of Republican presidential candidates, Newt Gingrich will be conspicuously absent.
Gingrich's campaign cited scheduling conflicts in not speaking to Ralph Reed's Faith & Freedom Coalition, but his absence will nonetheless prompt questions about his ability to woo politically minded religious voters, and leave some voters' concerns unanswered.
To be sure, the former House speaker has made the rounds in trying to line up early support, especially in Iowa, where religious conservatives are a major force in the state's first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses.
He's paid a courtesy call to San Antonio megachurch pastor John Hagee and also stopped by the late Jerry Falwell's Liberty University and a gathering of Hispanic evangelicals, always trying to reaffirm his commitment to God and country.
Even so, some political observers expect his marital past – three marriages, two divorces ...
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