SUPER TUESDAY VOTING
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the state’s presidential preference primary and Shelby County’s primaries. Voters must cast ballots at their assigned precincts and must provide a state- or federal-issued photo ID in order to vote. mega- church.
Bellevue pastor Steve Gaines brought Santorum and his wife onto the stage for a prayer that mentioned abortion and “immorality.”
At one point, two parishioners placed their hands on Santorum’s shoulders, and the congregation raised hands in a symbolic laying on of hands for the former Pennsylvania senator.
The appearance at one of the South’s largest Southern Baptist churches came on the same weekend The New York Times examined Santorum’s faith. According to The Times: “Unlike Catholics who believe that church doctrine should adapt to changing times and needs, the Santorums believe in a highly traditional Catholicism that adheres fully to what scholars call ‘the teaching authority’ of the pope and his bishops.”
Santorum recently drew harsh criticism from liberals and conservatives for saying a 1960 speech by the nation’s only previous non-protestant president, John F. Kennedy, made him want to “throw up” because of its insistence on separation of church and state.
The visit also came as Santorum tried to hold his advantage in the South over Romney, whose own Mormon faith has been a factor in his struggle to build a stronger following among religious conservatives, particularly in the South.
Romney started his day in Georgia and moved to Knoxville in the evening, looking to solidify a likely second-place finish in Georgia and trying to overtake Santorum in Tennessee, where Romney is backed by most of the state’s top -ranking Republicans, including Gov. Bill Haslam.
The Knoxville News Sentinel contributed to this story.