Huckabee rallies with religious conservatives at state Capitol

Thousands attended a rally at the state Capitol headlined by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to encourage religious Americans to flex their political muscle.

Wielding Bibles and signs with biblical verses, activists at the I Stand with God Pro-Family rally Saturday listened to Huckabee and others describe how the country is in turmoil because it has strayed too far from the Bible.

“We’re here because we’re broken-hearted,” said Huckabee, a candidate for the Republican nomination for president who said his presence at the rally was not connected to his campaign.

Speakers denounced abortion and same-sex marriage and implored religious Americans to be more involved with politics. None of the speakers mentioned a specific candidate or political party.

“Government is not the solution,” Lt. Gov. Dan Forest told the crowd. “Our politicians are a reflection of our people. You have to get involved in politics.”

Huckabee endorsed Forest during his 2012 campaign for lieutenant governor. At the time, Huckabee said he supported Forest’s views about limited government, the Second Amendment and states’ rights. Huckabee also appeared in a TV spot for Forest during the campaign.

Saturday’s rally was in the middle of a big campaign weekend for Huckabee, whose schedule took him to states that are key to winning elections. He was in New Hampshire on Friday for a housing summit and state senator’s barbecue and plans to attend a presidential forum in Texas on Sunday.

North Carolina will hold its presidential primary March 15.

Huckabee’s has the support of about 2 percent of likely voters in recent polls, behind six other Republicans hoping to make a run for the presidency in 2016. Donald Trump is in first place in most polls, according to RealClearPolitics, an aggregated polling site.

Huckabee also ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.

The stop in Raleigh was not part of Huckabee’s official campaign, but the issues at hand are much bigger than politics and his bid for the presidential nomination, he said.

On Saturday, Huckabee, a former pastor, said same-sex marriage and abortion are leading the country away from its foundations. He and other speakers said the U.S. Constitution was created from the Bible.

Evangelist Otis Duhart said ignoring the Bible has created a polarized country.

“All the controversial issues we deal with in this country would be gone if Americans knew God to be true,” Duhart said.

Duhart is a traveling pastor based in Knoxville, Tenn. Like Duhart, much of the crowd in Raleigh was not from the Triangle area. Members of churches from across the state arrived by the busload and many South Carolinians made the trip.

The first I Stand with God Pro-Family rally was held in August in Columbia, S.C., in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling to allow same-sex marriage. Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Rick Perry spoke at the event. Perry has since has dropped out of the race.

Activists said the Raleigh event was empowering, giving religious Americans a voice in a country they feel has ignored them.

Craig Overcash of Cleveland, just south of Garner, said he had a hard time thinking of recent political decisions that were in line with the Christian faith.

“We support the fundamentals of a Bible-based nation,” he said. “Leaders wrote the constitution based on the Bible.”

This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Huckabee rallies with religious conservatives at state Capitol."