If you have wondered how so many evangelicals can vote for Donald Trump, you are not alone. Many commentators admit that it is one of the most puzzling aspects of the 2016 presidential campaign. Donald Trump lost the evangelical vote to Ted Cruz in Iowa, but has done well with evangelical voters since then.

Ralph Reed in a recent column attempts to bring some light to the subject. He first explains that Donald Trump isn’t doing any better among evangelical voters than previous Republican presidential candidates like John McCain and Mitt Romney. He has been winning about one-third of evangelicals.

Reed also reminds us that evangelicals “don’t vote solely based on abortion and gay rights.” A recent survey of evangelical voters found that their primary issues were the economy (26%), terrorism (21%), and immigration (9%).

It is also worth noting that evangelical voters don’t cast their ballots based only on the religious commitment of the candidate. In 1980, the voters could choose between the religious Southern Baptist Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, who rarely attended church and became the first divorced man to occupy the White House. Evangelicals admired Reagan’s pro-life stand and socially conservative values.

Reed says the deepest crack running through the Republican electorate is not religion but class. Donald Trump’s “strongest support comes from white voters without a four-year college degree, especially blue-collar evangelicals.” They are responding to their economic circumstances and resonate with Donald Trump’s pledge to bring jobs back to America and to stop illegal immigration.

We might add that they also resonate with his claim to be pro-life and his desire to protect religious liberty. Moreover, they are convinced that Washington is broken. That is why the two insurgent candidates (Trump and Cruz) have done so well in this election season.