About one-in-four registered voters (26%) who are Republicans or lean toward the GOP describe themselves as conservative white evangelical Protestants—but that proportion varies widely in the three earliest (Jan. 14- Feb.2) primary states, from 39% in South Carolina and 31% in Iowa, to 10% in New Hampshire. Most Republican and GOP-leaning independent voters in every state consider themselves to be conservative, but an analysis of the proportion that is both conservative and white evangelical Protestant reveals even more divergent profiles across the states when candidates for the Republican nomination look toward Feb. 5. In states such as Arkansas and Tennessee, roughly half of Republican voters are conservative evangelicals, and outnumber moderate and liberal Republicans by nearly two-to-one. But in many other states – particularly New York, New Jersey, Arizona and California – the bulk of Republican voters are moderate or liberal, with only small minorities of conservative evangelicals. Read More

Russell Heimlich  is a former web developer at Pew Research Center.