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musician turned political activist Sean Feucht has teamed up with the

religious arm of right-wing youth organizing group Turning Point USA for

a two-year, 50-state road trip designed to bring Feucht’s mix of

worship and hard-right politics to every state capitol.

After a kickoff event attended by <a href="https://twitter.com/seanfeucht/status/1634191700196220929?s=20">seven members of Congress</a> in the U.S. Capitol rotunda March 9, the “Kingdom to the Capitol” tour headed south with a swing through <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3y5CPK9x9Y">Baton Rouge, Louisiana</a>, Jackson, Mississippi, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwFRVzjWEIo&t=1s">Montgomery, Alabama</a>

this past weekend. In Alabama, Chief Justice Tom Parker, a longtime

ally of the disgraced former Chief Justice Roy Moore, participated in

the tour and <a href="https://twitter.com/seanfeucht/status/1637619157536591873?s=20">invited</a> Feucht to pray in the Supreme Court chamber.

Rep. Lauren Boebert was among the members of Congress who joined a small crowd in the U.S. Capitol March 9 to

sing along with Feucht as he strummed his guitar. Afterwards, Feucht

tweeted, “The Capitol became an Altar…There is ONE KING over America…”

Feucht, a missionary musician associated with controversial Northern

California megachurch Bethel, ran for Congress in 2020 in what he said

was obedience to a call from God. Despite playing up a Dec. 2019 <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/congressional-candidate-sean-feucht-makes-most-of-white-house-worship-and-prayer-event/">visit to the Oval Office</a> where he prayed over former President Donald Trump, Feucht <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/super-tuesday-not-so-super-for-these-religious-right-candidates/">did not make it</a> through the primary. But the failed run hooked him on politics, and he <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/sean-feucht-launches-political-group-to-mobilize-conservative-christian-millennials/">formed a political group</a> called Hold the Line in 2020 and ramped up his <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/sean-feuchts-defiant-crowded-worship-events-alarm-california-health-officials/">activism</a>

in opposition to public health restrictions on church gatherings that

were designed to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Since then,

Feucht has <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/sean-feucht-tour-using-high-energy-worship-to-promote-right-wing-politics-hits-dc-on-eve-of-barrett-vote/">held</a> “Let Us Worship” <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/dominionism-and-christian-nationalism-returned-to-national-mall-at-let-us-worship-rallies/">rallies</a>

on the National Mall featuring appearances by Sen. Josh Hawley, New

Apostolic Reformation leader Ché Ahn, and dominionist Lou Engle, as well

as video remarks from Trump. He also started a podcast; when Boebert

was a <a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/1802164/11967065-pioneering-a-new-dimension-of-politics-congresswoman-lauren-boebert">guest</a>, Feucht praised her as a “gangster for Jesus.”

While Turning Point USA was founded in 2012 with a libertarian bent, founder <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/charlie-kirk-is-still-spreading-historically-and-biblically-baseless-claims-to-justify-his-christian-nationalism/">Charlie Kirk</a> has since <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/charlie-kirk-teams-up-with-dominionists-and-christian-nationalists-to-wage-spiritual-war/">teamed up</a> with <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/charlie-kirk-makes-multiple-historically-and-biblically-baseless-claims-to-justify-his-christian-nationalism/">Christian nationalists</a>, and <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/charlie-kirk-endorses-sean-feucht-congressional-candidate-backed-by-christian-nationalists-and-dominionists/">endorsed</a> Feucht’s congressional run in 2020. In 2021, Kirk <a href="https://ministrywatch.com/turning-point-faith-ups-political-pressure-on-americas-pastors-2/">launched</a>

TPUSA Faith as a political vehicle for “restoring traditional biblical

values in our nation” by pushing conservative pastors to get more active

politically. It held its <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/08/17/over-500-pastors-faith-leaders-gather-san-diego-turning-point-usa-faith-summit-only-pulpits-have-power-change-america/">first summit for pastors</a> last year. Kirk regularly makes “Freedom Night” presentations in churches.

Since his failed run for office, Feucht has established a beachhead

for spiritual warfare two blocks from the U.S. Capitol in a rowhouse he

has dubbed “<a href="https://www.seanfeucht.com/camp-elah">Camp Elah</a>,” which he says is a biblical reference to the stream where David picked up the stones that he used to slay Goliath.

Feucht and Kirk have both been influenced by Rob McCoy, a California

pastor-politician who is allied with Christian Nationalist political

operative David Lane. McCoy serves as TPUSA Faith’s co-chair. In an <a href="https://holdtheline.live/podcasts/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_6074938">interview</a>

on Feucht’s Hold the Line podcast, McCoy acknowledged that his Calvary

Chapel church has theological differences with Bethel’s charismatic

Pentecostalism, but he praised Feucht’s political activism and his

collaboration with TPUSA Faith. “We have an agenda,” Feucht said. “We

want the kingdom of God to take over. It’s a clear agenda from heaven.”

Tags: <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/people/charlie-kirk/">Charlie Kirk</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/people/lauren-boebert/">Lauren Boebert</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/people/rob-mccoy/">Rob McCoy</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/people/sean-feucht/">Sean Feucht</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/people/tom-parker/">Tom Parker</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/topics/christian-nationalism/">Christian Nationalism</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/topics/dominionism/">Dominionism</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/organizations/election-2024/">Election 2024</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/organizations/hold-the-line/">Hold the Line</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/organizations/tpusa-faith/">TPUSA Faith</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/organizations/turning-point-usa/">Turning Point USA</a> ==
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<div class="mce-content-body" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><div class="layout-constrain--narrow" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 47.2222em; padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 1em; line-height: 1.5;"><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;"><a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/people/rob-mccoy/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">Rob McCoy</a> is pastor of Godspeak Calvary Chapel church and, as of Tuesday, mayor of Thousand Oaks, California. In September, <a href="https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/communities/conejo-valley/2018/04/27/dos-vientos-residents-sue-thousand-oaks-former-ymca-ventura-county/544280002/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">over some neighborhood opposition</a>, his congregation <a href="http://citizensjournal.us/pastor-rob-mccoy-pass-the-baton-as-godspeak-calvary-chapel-moves-to-dos-vientos-dedication-and-celebration-next-sunday/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">moved</a> into a former YMCA facility that was <a href="https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/communities/conejo-valley/2018/01/17/opposed-many-residents-sale-former-ymca-building-dos-vientos-closes/1036830001/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">bought</a> and renovated by the foundation of Dan Wilks, a Texas fracking billionaire who supports Religious Right and Christian nationalist causes. According to the Citizens Journal, <a href="http://citizensjournal.us/pastor-rob-mccoy-pass-the-baton-as-godspeak-calvary-chapel-moves-to-dos-vientos-dedication-and-celebration-next-sunday/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">Wilks was on hand</a> to celebrate the move.<p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">In April, the VC Star <a href="https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/communities/conejo-valley/2018/04/27/dos-vientos-residents-sue-thousand-oaks-former-ymca-ventura-county/544280002/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">reported</a>:<blockquote style="background: rgb(239, 243, 243); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; hyphens: none; padding: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0.75em 2em;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5;">The former YMCA was bought for $2.85 million in January by the Texas-based nonprofit Heavenly Father’s Foundation, which plans to lease it as the new home of McCoy’s church. McCoy said he is a “very dear friend” of the founder of the foundation, Texas billionaire Dan Wilks.</blockquote><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">This is not the first time McCoy has benefited from the largesse of the Wilks family. When McCoy made his first run for public office, for state legislature in 2014, Dan Wilks, his brother Farris and their wives <a href="https://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/independent-gop-groups-spent-370000-to-back-de-la-piedra-in-assembly-race-a-503740#.XBEwKGhKjIU" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">gave thousands of dollars to McCoy’s campaign</a>. (After losing his bid for the legislature, McCoy ran for and <a href="http://citizensjournal.us/and-its-mccoy-for-thousand-oaks-city-council/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">won</a> a seat on the Thousand Oaks City Council.)<p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">Why are these Texans so interested in a local politician in California? The connection is Christian nationalist <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/people/david-lane/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">David Lane</a>. For more than two decades, Lane has been organizing gatherings that bring together conservative pastors and politicians with the hope of getting pastors to preach more aggressively about politics and to get their congregants to vote. Lane says it was McCoy, <a href="http://theamericanrenewalproject.org/2018/01/my-pastor-is-running-for-office-thank-you-rob-mccoy/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">his pastor</a>, that inspired his more recent effort to recruit a thousand evangelical pastors to run for public office. Part of Lane’s theory is that is pastor-candidates can each mobilize hundreds of congregants as volunteers, and the resulting impact could be felt on campaigns up and down the ticket.<p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">The Wilks brothers, who were interviewed by the Christian Broadcasting Network at one of Lane’s events in Iowa in 2013, have <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/why-do-republican-officials-keep-partnering-with-christian-nation-extremist-david-lane/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">funneled</a> <a href="http://www.slowlyboiledfrog.com/2017/11/david-lanes-funding-source-revealed-and.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">lots of money</a> to Lane’s American Renewal Project (<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/the-wilks-brothers-fracking-sugar-daddies-for-the-far-right/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">and other Religious Right causes</a>) through the foundations they set up after selling their fracking services company for billions of dollars: Dan and his wife Staci have Heavenly Father’s Foundation, while Farris and his wife have the Thirteen Foundation. Liberty Counsel, which has received huge donations from Wilks foundations, <a href="http://blackchristiannews.com/2018/11/pastor-mayor-rob-mccoy-comforts-thousand-oaks-community-in-wake-of-horrific-mass-shooting-even-as-his-church-is-involved-in-frivolous-lawsuit/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">defended</a> the sale and occupancy of the new Godspeak building against legal challenges brought by a local community group.<p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">The Thousand Oaks Acorn has <a href="https://www.toacorn.com/articles/texas-billionaire-buying-miller-family-y-building/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">reported</a> on the Wilks-McCoy relationship:<blockquote style="background: rgb(239, 243, 243); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; hyphens: none; padding: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0.75em 2em;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">A major donor to Republican and conservative Christian causes, Dan Wilks was invited to Israel along with former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, whom McCoy knows though David Lane, a member of McCoy’s church and founder of the American Renewal Project. Lane is a significant behind-the-scenes player in the GOP, which has enabled McCoy to make connections with the likes of Sen. Rand Paul and Sen. Ted Cruz, among others.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">McCoy said Wilks was touched by his teachings and they struck up a friendship. In the years following their initial meeting, Wilks has flown the pastor to visit his ranch in Cisco, Texas, and Wilks has visited McCoy in Newbury Park.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">After attending a sermon at Godspeak, McCoy said, Wilks told him in his Southern drawl that he wanted the church to be in a better location.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5;">“He liked my teaching and decided to be a blessing,” McCoy said.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">McCoy was intimately involved in <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/christian-nationalists-dominionists-set-their-sights-on-california/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">two events for pastors</a> that were held by the California arm of Lane’s American Renewal project in southern California in September to encourage pastors to get their congregations mobilized for this year’s midterm elections.<p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">“If California is to be saved, and if its current direction is to be reversed, biblical values must be re-embraced in the public square,” said Religious Right “historian” David Barton in a video promoting the events. McCoy also helped <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/christian-nationalists-dominionists-set-their-sights-on-california/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">promote</a> the gatherings and was one of the speakers. (According to one report, the two events <a href="http://citizensjournal.us/pastor-rob-mccoy-pass-the-baton-as-godspeak-calvary-chapel-moves-to-dos-vientos-dedication-and-celebration-next-sunday/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">drew</a> 1,100 pastors and wives.)<p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">As we have previously noted:<blockquote style="background: rgb(239, 243, 243); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; hyphens: none; padding: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0.75em 2em;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5;">Lane <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/david-lane-republican-presidential-hopefuls-favorite-christian-nation-extremist/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">preaches</a> that the U.S. has a divine mission to glorify God and advance the Christian faith, and he has <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/david-lane-moral-majority-must-wage-war-against-pagan-onslaught-imposing-homosexual-marriage" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">called</a> the separation of church and state a “lie” and a “fabricated whopper” designed to stop “Christian America—the moral majority—from imposing moral government on pagan public schools, pagan higher learning and pagan media.” He has <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/david-lane-republican-presidential-hopefuls-favorite-christian-nation-extremist/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">complained</a> that there was “not a peep from the Christian Church” in response to the <em style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, when the church “should have initiated riots, revolution, and repentance.”</blockquote><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">On the Saturday before the election, McCoy took part in “Engage California,” a conference sponsored by another congregation in the Calvary Chapel network. McCoy <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG1-nq1V3Tk&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2LyqOGmU9nmbUVkhL11_MOtD6gn_UcwvgI8HCY7V1tT6kzxsMacPgCRMY" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">talked</a> about the fact that Chuck Smith, the founder of the Calvary Chapel movement, generally stayed away from politics. But now that’s changing.<p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">“I am excited because we are staging ourselves for an enormous effect throughout the country,” McCoy <a href="http://citizensjournal.us/pastor-rob-mccoy-pass-the-baton-as-godspeak-calvary-chapel-moves-to-dos-vientos-dedication-and-celebration-next-sunday/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">said</a> in September. “We are a hub, assembling spokes, and steps into the public square. The major players in the Calvary movement are now touched by this paradigm shift which is profound.”<p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">As RWW has previously <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/christian-nationalist-david-lane-is-praying-for-republican-young-kim-to-win-ca-39/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">reported</a>:<blockquote style="background: rgb(239, 243, 243); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; hyphens: none; padding: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0.75em 2em;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">At the Engage California event, McCoy <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG1-nq1V3Tk" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">bemoaned</a> the fact that so many Christians in California don’t vote or aren’t even registered. Said McCoy, “Had Christians just decided to show up, we would dominate every election up and down the state.”<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">“We will not lose this state,” he said, encouraging attendees to call as many people as they could before the election. As for the more than 7 million Christians in California he said haven’t registered to vote, “we’re gonna get them in the next election.”<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5;">“We’re not giving up on this state,” said McCoy. “This is ours. We are going to infuse the culture with the presence of Christ.” Host pastor Jack Hibbs <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4sKBSPGRcs&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1mN3m6F3TSnOnIf6tcGxfAhxKeQe9NGRnfJED9wTvvD9Gkma4A7p9NFm4" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">sounded</a> the same theme, saying California is “worth fighting for.” He told attendees that they had “an amazing opportunity” on Election Day to “make a shock happen in California” and create an “earthquake of righteousness.”</blockquote><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">After the election, Lane <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/hedgerow/2018/11/california-pastor-mayor-elect-pro-tem-raises-the-bar-responds-to-shooting-and-wildfires/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">complained</a> that Democratic Governor-elect Gavin Newsom was elected “by California evangelicals who stayed home on Election Day.”<p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">It has been an extremely challenging fall for McCoy and his community; just after the elections, Thousand Oaks experienced both a deadly mass shooting and a wildfire that forced the evacuation of part of the town.<p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;"> <p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;"> </div></div><div class="layout-constrain--narrow" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 47.2222em; padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="tags" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; border-top: 5px solid rgb(239, 243, 243); margin-bottom: 2em; padding-top: 1em;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">Tags: <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/people/david-lane/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">David Lane</a><a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/people/rob-mccoy/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">Rob McCoy</a><a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/topics/california/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">California</a><a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/topics/christian-nation/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">Christian Nation</a><a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/topics/church-state/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">Church-State</a><a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/topics/dominionism/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">Dominionism</a><a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/topics/election-2018/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">Election 2018</a><a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/organizations/american-renewal-project/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">American Renewal Project</a><a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/organizations/california-renewal-project/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">California Renewal Project</a></div></div>===Even

as Irwin highlights her moderate credentials, she has leaned heavily on

the party's labor-union base for fundraising and foot soldiers.A

few hours after the parade, she stopped by a backyard barbecue for

members of local carpenters, builders and electrical workers unions, who

had been knocking on doors in Oxnard on her behalf."She's for

working-class people," said Jose Lopez, a 33-year-old electrician from

Oxnard. "She knows that when more jobs are here locally, the money grows

here locally."The next day, at Godspeak Calvary Church, McCoy

was lamenting the federal and state debt and the high rate of long-term

unemployment. He urged his congregants to cast off political apathy."Do something!" he exhorted.A

local pastor for 14 years, McCoy is a dexterous speaker. At the pulpit

and on the stump, he is alternately theatrical and self-effacing,

weaving standard Republican slams against government regulation with

calls for post-partisan unity.Linda Gowan, a member of McCoy's

church, said she had been politically disengaged until recently but was

"moved by Rob's passion and vision for California, and absolutely

skewered by his call to action."Democrats say McCoy is too extreme for the 44th

Assembly District. In television and mail ads, they're highlighting

comments he made at a 2011 tea party rally, calling for Social Security

to be abolished.McCoy qualifies that statement now, saying he was

recounting a conversation with his father-in-law and that he does not

want to end Social Security for current retirees. Rather, he said, he

wants to revamp it for younger generations.Concerns that McCoy

may be too conservative were shared by some in the Republican

establishment. Groups funded primarily by the California Chamber of

Commerce and GOP mega-donor Charles Munger spent more than $700,000

against him in the June primary.

Some

contributors have since come around. Munger gave the McCoy campaign the

maximum individual donation this month, and the state party has sent in

more than a half-million dollars. McCoy has brought in $1.1 million;

Irwin has raised nearly $1.5 million....=