Pat Robertson, Christian Televangelist and One-Time Presidential Candidate, Dead at 93

etonline.com:

 television show, and in later years, his televised pronouncements of God's judgment on America for everything from homosexuality to the teaching of evolution.The money poured in as he solicited donations, his influence soared, and when he moved directly into politics by seeking the GOP presidential nomination in 1988, he brought a huge following with him.Robertson pioneered a now-common strategy of courting Iowa's network of evangelical Christian churches, and finished in second place in the Iowa caucuses, ahead of Vice President George H.W.

Bush.His masterstroke was insisting that three million followers across the U.S. sign petitions before he would decide to run, Robertson biographer Jeffrey K.

Hadden said. The tactic gave him an army.″He asked people to pledge that they'd work for him, pray for him and give him money," Hadden, a University of Virginia sociologist, told The Associated Press in 1988. ″Political historians may view it as one of the most ingenious things a candidate ever did.″Robertson later endorsed Bush, who won the presidency.

Pursuit of Iowa's evangelicals is now a ritual for Republican hopefuls, including those currently seeking the White House in 2024.Robertson started the Christian Coalition in Chesapeake in 1989, saying it would further his campaign's ideals.