Ask people in the Trump camp about the absence of religion in Trump’s public speeches in such a religious state, and there will be two answers. The first: Evangelicals want jobs, too. They want to secure the border. They want to get rid of ISIS, especially after Paris and San Bernardino. All of that means a lot more to evangelical voters than a candidate who can quote 2 Chronicles 7:14.

In addition, they say, evangelical voters are tired of voting for candidates who appeal to their faith and then don’t have the strength to win the Republican nomination or the White House. Better a strong candidate who addresses many of their concerns than a weaker one who addresses them all.

Jamie Johnson, a longtime Iowa Republican operative who supported Rick Santorum the last time around and has also served on the GOP’s state central committee, came to the Trump Clear Lake rally. (After signing on with Rick Perry early in the race, Johnson has not been affiliated with any other candidate.) “This last week, I was with 15 self-identified, born-again evangelical Christians, two of whom are in ministry full time,” Johnson told me before the rally. “They’re voting for Trump. I said why? They said Islamic terrorism, they want to seal the border, and Trump says the things that we’ve been wanting to say for a long time. Those are the three things that people keep saying.”