Evangelist Franklin Graham (left) and Sarah Palin will head to Haiti this weekend. | AP Photos Palin to Haiti with evangelist

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is heading to Haiti this weekend with evangelist Franklin Graham, a Palin source confirmed to POLITICO.

Palin and Graham will visit a cholera clinic in addition to other stops, as was first reported by CNN.


The Haiti visit was the second foreign trip to surface Thursday. Palin is also planning possible visits next year to Israel and Britain.

The Haiti trip could serve two distinct political purposes for Palin.

First, it provides an opportunity to expand her image and policy portfolio beyond her limited image as a darling of the tea party movement.

Second, she'll be able to better establish her claim to evangelical voters if she chooses to seek the Republican presidential nomination. Evangelicals overwhelmingly supported former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, one of Palin's potential 2012 rivals, in the early 2008 GOP primaries and caucuses.

Graham, the son of Rev. Billy Graham, is extremely popular among evangelicals. But he has at times found himself in hot water over his comments, especially regarding Islam.

Graham was dropped from a Pentagon prayer service earlier this year after he called Islam "wicked and evil."

He later claimed that being dropped from the event over the comments had violated his "religious rights."