Detroit Pastor Exposes Why Progressive Candidates Suddenly Care About Christianity

Clear Facts

• Detroit Pastor Lorenzo Sewell says progressive Democrats are attempting to “virtue-signal” to Christian voters ahead of midterm elections
• Three progressive Senate candidates—Angie Nixon (FL), Abdul El-Sayed (MI), and James Talarico (TX)—have incorporated religious messaging into their campaigns
• Christians represent the largest religious voting bloc in America, making them a key target for political outreach

Detroit Pastor Lorenzo Sewell is calling out what he sees as a calculated political move by progressive Democrats to court Christian voters. According to Sewell, progressive politicians are trying to “virtue-signal, placate, and try to propagate to Christians” because they represent the largest religious voting bloc in America.

“It’s the largest voting bloc in America. We’re celebrating 250 years, where our forefathers — they understood that the God of the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ, would give them the ability to start this great nation,” Sewell explained.

“And we see that we’ve not been a perfect nation, but we understand that we’ve been the most benevolent.”

“We’ve been the nation that’s protected Israel,” he continued. “We’ve been the nation that, quite frankly, has spread Christianity throughout the world to reach hundreds of millions of people in the last 250 years.”

The pastor’s comments come as three progressive Democratic Senate candidates have made faith a central part of their campaigns. Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon, former Michigan health official Abdul El-Sayed, and Texas state Rep. James Talarico have all incorporated religious messaging into their political platforms despite their progressive stances on social issues.

Talarico, a Texas state lawmaker and theological seminary graduate, has frequently cited biblical scripture to defend progressive policies. He has argued that Jesus focused on feeding the hungry, welcoming strangers, and helping the poor rather than engaging in partisan culture wars.

“Imagine a Democratic Party that takes on big money and isn’t captured by it,” Talarico told an audience of Democrats in Hays County. “Imagine a Democratic Party that delivers for people on housing, health care, and education, and actually defeats the right-wing extremists who have taken over this country.”

In a sermon laying out his progressive framing of the Bible, Talarico asked what Jesus would do “about a tax system that benefits the rich over the poor” and “a health care system that forces the sick to start GoFundMe pages to afford lifesaving surgeries.”

During comments at the Saint Paul AME Church of Jacksonville, Florida, Nixon — the Democratic Senate nominee facing Republican incumbent Sen. Ashley Moody in November — contended that her political positions were akin to those of Jesus Christ.

“They are trying, y’all. They are trying … to label me as this extremist, this radical. But, you know, Jesus was a radical,” Nixon said.

El-Sayed, during an appearance on the “Progressive Christians Podcast” that aired in May, similarly invoked Christ when asked about his policy positions. El-Sayed, who is Muslim and running in Michigan’s Senate race against former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, was asked about the overlap between Islamic teachings and Christianity, and why his platform was being framed as radical.

“Well, you know, Jesus — peace and blessings be upon him — was considered radical in his time, too,” El-Sayed said.

Pastor Sewell insisted that progressive Democrats are simply playing politics with the electorate rather than demonstrating genuine faith.

“They know that they need to appeal to Christians. But the question becomes: What is their agenda for the church?” he said. “President Donald Trump has been the only president that has an agenda for the local church.”

“I was with them last week,” Sewell added. “I’ll be preaching at the RNC coming up, and that’s because the president honors the church and honors the presence of God. But you won’t hear Jesus in the DNC. You won’t hear Jesus spoken about through the real Jesus — the God of the Bible.”

The pastor’s critique highlights a growing tension in American politics as both parties compete for religious voters. While progressive candidates attempt to frame their policies through a religious lens, conservatives argue that their track record on issues like religious liberty, abortion, and traditional family values speaks louder than campaign rhetoric.

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