Economic policies in D.C., & the fact that nothing trickles down to working stiffs, has nothing to do with a person's positions on god, guns, gays & abortion.

For the people who want to overturn Roe v. Wade, a candidates view & votes will be the first & singular over-riding factor in voting.  This issue crosses all economic lines & often works in tandem with the god thing.

People who perceive themselves as religious fundamentalists make that their most important factor in assessing a candidate; it is not something they cling to after something else happens to them.

The anti-gay thing & the same-sex marriage gambit are tiresomely worn out: it is a basic, front-of-the-line position for the people who fear & loathe homosexuals; it is not a by-the-way issue.

Anyone, I mean anyone, and especially a political candidate, who thinks that the 2nd amendment is some sort of fallback position of smalltown folk who feel left out is just plain, flat-out too silly to be in politics.  For the voters who are passionate about firearms, it is their foremost issue.

Finally, many of these factors tend to fall together for people.  As most observors KNOW, god & guns & gays are basic tenets of a very huge group of voters.  Anti-abortion beliefs thread through those groups too.

The religious conservatives & social conservatives who hold those views do not do so because some factories got closed & the people can't find new, well paid jobs.