Scott Walker, the son of a Baptist preacher who says he takes his orders from God, has an unexpected problem on his hands: Many social conservatives don’t trust him.

Next week, the Wisconsin governor will travel to Capitol Hill to hold a private meeting with influential evangelical leaders, some of whom are expressing deep reservations about his track record on issues near and dear to them. Pointing to his past statements, and even his hire of a top campaign aide, they are openly questioning whether his views on abortion and gay marriage align with theirs and whether he’s willing to fight for their cause.


“Clearly he’s not well known within Washington, D.C., with social conservative leaders. He’s more known for his battle with unions in Wisconsin,” said Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council and one of about 50 people invited to huddle with Walker. “I think people are wondering, ‘Where does he stand?’”

Perkins, a former Louisiana state legislator and political operative who’s made himself into a power broker in evangelical circles, is one of Walker’s skeptics. “For the last few years, Governor Walker carefully avoided social issues, at one point even calling them a distraction,” he wrote in a newsletter that was sent to his group’s supporters in February. Perkins, who hasn’t endorsed in the Republican primary race, went on to suggest that Walker’s recent appeals to evangelicals were disingenuous.

The meeting, slated to take place on Tuesday afternoon at the Capitol Hill Club, is part of a broader effort to court social conservatives who might play critical roles in the nominating contest. He’s been in regular contact with Perkins, speaking to him most recently around a month ago. Next week, Walker is scheduled to meet with Colin Hanna, president of Let Freedom Ring, an anti-abortion organization. And last week, Rebecca Kleefisch, Walker’s lieutenant governor and an evangelical, huddled in Washington, D.C., with Penny Nance, president of Concerned Women for America, a prominent Christian group.

“He cannot campaign in Iowa and South Carolina and not talk about the issues of life and marriage,” Nance said in an interview. “And even if it appears that he’s not talking about it, he’s done.”

Earlier this year, the nascent Walker campaign — which declined to comment on the push — brought on two veteran Republican operatives, Gary Marx and Gregg Keller, to help the governor navigate the world of social conservative leaders. The two have served as liaisons, helping to introduce Walker to key evangelical players and to serve as something of a go-between.

The stakes are high. As he lays the groundwork for his 2016 presidential bid, Walker is placing a premium on winning Iowa, a state where he spent part of his childhood and where evangelicals compose a substantial portion of the electorate. But even as polls show Walker moving into a lead there, some Christian leaders in the state say there’s doubt about his positions.

“The good news is that there’s a lot to like about Scott Walker,” said Bob Vander Plaats, an influential Iowa social conservative who endorsed Rick Santorum in 2012. “The bad news is, he’s got some explaining to do.”

That Walker is under pressure to prove his social conservative bona fides is perhaps surprising. He’s worn his faith proudly as he crisscrosses the country, even suggesting that his ultimate decision on whether to seek the presidency is in God’s hands. “We want to discern that this is God’s calling,” Walker recently told World Magazine, a Christian publication. “Not just man’s calling.”

The governor has also been highlighting what he calls his steadfast opposition to abortion and gay marriage, positions that he outlined in a Feb. 23 appearance before the National Religious Broadcasters convention. “We must stand up for marriage and the family,” he told those gathered, adding: “I believe in the family. And I believe in life.”

But as they parse Walker’s record, many evangelical leaders say they’re unconvinced that he’s firmly on their side. Chief among their complaints is a TV ad that Walker ran in October, during the final weeks of a heated reelection battle. In the commercial, Walker described himself as “pro-life” but called the decision of whether to terminate a pregnancy “agonizing” and underscored legislation he approved that left “the final decision to a woman and her doctor” — language some perceive as an openness to abortion.

They also point to comments he made to The Hill in November 2013 in which he said that Republicans shouldn’t become distracted by social issues and that “I don’t talk about [gay marriage] at all. I don’t talk about anything but fiscal and economic issues in the state.” Nearly a year later, after a Wisconsin ban on same-sex marriage was struck down in the courts, Walker gave an ambiguous but seemingly nonsupportive answer when asked whether the Constitution should be amended to restrict gay nuptials. “I think it’s resolved,” he said.

While many don’t question that Walker opposes abortion and gay marriage, they contend that — perhaps out of a fear of alienating other parts of the electorate — he isn’t forceful in articulating his position.

“When it comes to social conservatives, there is a sense that he doesn’t take a leadership role,” said Mathew Staver, a pastor and the chairman of Liberty Counsel, a Christian group. “I think the concern is becoming widespread, and as we go further into the campaign it will become even more obvious.”

Other social conservatives say the apprehension about Walker goes beyond his policy views. Some said he would be pressed on his decision to tap Rick Wiley, a longtime Republican operative who has previously worked for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a supporter of abortion rights, to head up his 2016 campaign.

“I think the idea that personnel is policy and who is advising candidates is a real issue and one he will face this week and next from pro-life leaders,” said Tom McClusky, vice president of government affairs of March for Life Action.

As he courts social conservatives, Walker faces significant competition from other Republican contenders. Santorum, Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal and Mike Huckabee are presenting themselves as unflinching on issues such as abortion and gay marriage. Like the Wisconsin governor, they are expected to compete aggressively in Iowa. Huckabee won the caucuses there in 2008, and Santorum won them four years later.

The crowded field will be on display later this week at a conference being sponsored by the Council for National Policy, a group of Christian donors, activists, and leaders that is currently overseen by Perkins. The confab, which will be held at the Ritz-Carlton in McLean, Virginia, and which is closed to the news media, is expected to draw a handful of 2016 contenders, including Cruz, Jindal, and Huckabee. Walker will not attend, according to an aide; he is likely to be at the organization’s gathering in October.

With so many candidates vying for their attention, some evangelicals say, Walker might be the odd man out.

“It’s like anything,” said Staver. “If you have a selection, you’re going to take the best.”