Conservative Christians and evangelicals — a typically reliable Republican voting bloc — may be up for grabs come Tuesday's general election.

Credited with delivering crucial ballots that helped propel President Bush to his second term in 2004, some of these once steady voters are wavering in their support of the GOP, following a series of morally dubious incidents.

GERALD HERBERT/Associated Press (ENLARGE)

The corruption scandal surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff may have some voters rethinking GOP loyalties.

RICK McKAY/Staff (ENLARGE)

Republican Rep. Mark Foley of Florida resigned from Congress on Sept. 29.

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In January, Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to charges involving fraud, public corruption and tax evasion for conspiring to bribe public officials. Abramoff became an issue in several races, including the failed attempt by former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed to win the GOP nomination for Georgia lieutenant governor.

More recently, U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, a Florida Republican, resigned amid reports he e-mailed inappropriate messages to teenage pages. On the coattails of that scandal, David Kuo, former deputy director of the White House's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, has been promoting his book ("Tempting Faith."), asserting the Bush administration courted evangelicals in 2004 then privately mocked them.

And on Thursday, a national religious leader with ties to the White House resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals after a self-described male escort accused him of paying for gay sex.

The Rev. Ted Haggard, an adviser to the Bush White House, denied the allegation but stepped down from the umbrella group for evangelical churches, which has 30 million members.

Whether the flock stays away from the ballot box Tuesday remains to be seen, but there are suggestions that the so-called "God gap" in politics is narrowing.

Richard Williams of Fayetteville, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, said he has a history of voting for Republicans. But he won't be voting for a Republican congressman this time.

"Republicans have wrapped themselves in the American flag, and then they appear to be carrying the cross of Jesus Christ — if you're not with us, you're against Christianity," Williams said. "Those are high standards to hold themselves up to, and the current Congress has failed miserably — taking bribes, influencing votes and now Mark Foley. It's hard when they say one thing, and do something else. The population is just tired of the hypocrisy."

Nearly three of five white evangelicals registered to vote — 57 percent — indicated they'd vote for Republican congressional candidates in this election, a drop of 11 percentage points from the eve of the 2002 congressional elections, according to a poll released Oct. 5 by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center.

"The honeymoon is over," said Robert Franklin Jr., presidential scholar and professor of social ethics at Emory University's Candler School of Theology. "Republicans have had to look at their own leaders who aren't perfect."

Franklin has visited evangelical and conservative congregations, hearing their frustrations about the current administration. But he has also found that churchgoers are a bit wiser and more mature about their expectations.

"There were a lot of conservative and evangelical voters who thought that with a Republican president and congressional majority, everyone would be singing out of the same hymnbook and would usher in a new kingdom. But in their quiet moments, they talk that what they expected [of political leadership] was more than was realistic."

For voters like Jean Eichoff of Decatur, there is a desire to move beyond the headlines and continue her support of individuals who legislate with integrity.

"We're obligated to vote for the best of what we see. I'm a Republican, but I don't always vote that way," Eichoff said. "The integrity of a person is important to me. We're all human, and individually we all fail. Clinton failed. We could each tally up a gazillion people on both sides that have fallen short. We aren't perfect.

"Let's move it [beyond Foley]. He's wrong. Do something to him. We have got to get beyond these individuals and rise up to something greater as a party," she said.

The political ground, however, seemed to shift even before the Foley scandal. Prior to that episode, the number of white evangelicals who viewed the GOP in a "favorable" light had fallen this year, from 63 percent to 54 percent, according to Pew polls.

In September, the national Christian Coalition historically split after some members added higher wages and environmental concerns to their issue base. And even the critical "wedge" issues that evangelicals have counted on for Republican support — such as banning same-sex marriage — have been minimized or ignored by Republican candidates.

No matter what denomination, faith organizations still remain critical in getting out the vote for both Republicans and Democrats.

African-American religious leaders, for instance, are urging their congregations to make every vote a "values vote."

"Youth concerns, education and health care are critical issues," said Bishop Earl McCloud Jr. who recently led an Interdenominational Theological Center conference of national black church leaders to discuss public policy and the African-American church.

"I try to remind the people that there really is no public policy that is divorced from the church, because whatever is done in the legislative bodies and the other bodies of government directly affects the people in our churches," McCloud said. "We want preachers and Sunday school teachers to provide information so people can make up their own minds. But are the people listening — and will they vote?"

That's a question also dogging Christian conservatives.

Last month, during a "Stand for the Family" rally in Nashville, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson told the crowd that there was a concerted effort by some to use the Foley scandal to keep Christian conservatives home.

He reminded them that the issues of sanctity of human life and the direction of the Supreme Court were too important for conservatives not to vote. Still, the exhortations of Dobson and others may not be persuasive enough.

"I know of different Senate and gubernatorial races where pastors are telling me a lot of their members in their congregations are not going to vote — they just don't see any difference between the Republican and Democratic candidate," said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

"They voted Republican since 1980 based on abortion and marriage issues, but when candidates don't emphasize those issues, or shy away, the bottom falls away from their support. The only one who can deliver the values voters to the candidate is the candidate himself or herself — no one else can close the deal."

— News services contributed to this article.