Early voting begins Thursday, May 14, where every county office, state House, and Congressional race is on the ballot. Most city offices are on the ballot and half of the state Senate is up for reelection. The race garnering the most attention is the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Kentucky’s longest serving U.S. Senator, Mitch McConnell.
Clearly, much is at stake, but if 2026 is anything like the 2022 midterms, only one in five registered voters will make it to the polls. (20.4% turned out in the 2022 midterms according to the Kentucky State Board of Elections). Cynicism and apathy are the two biggest reasons for people disengaging from the electoral process.
According to a Gallup poll taken in April, disapproval of Congress has reached a record high of 86%. Meanwhile, only 10% of Americans approve Congress’s job performance. Adding to the distrust are campaign strategies involving things like push polling (I received one myself the other day). The poll introduced false and slanderous information meant to hang a dark cloud over their opponent. Mudslinging has been with us since the earliest days of our republic, but in the digital age, it’s easier and fairly cheap to fling a lot more mud at lightning speed, making the political arena a messy place. Who wants to be part of that?
Candidates who embrace ugly tactics often find it difficult to resist such tactics once they get into office. Disappointingly, there are Christian candidates who rationalize ugly campaign tactics, yet they claim the faith. In fact, this election cycle, there are many candidates from the state House to U.S. Senate campaigning on Christian ideals. Since this is the case, it’s worth exploring Christian principles of government.
Scripture says that God created government (Romans 13:1-2) for the purpose of restraining evil (Romans 13:3-4, 1 Peter 2:13) and those in government are God’s ministers for good (Romans 13:4). There are plenty of Old Testament examples of government advisors and leaders raised up by God. Joseph, Daniel, Nehemiah, and Esther are a few notables. So what should Christians look for in a good leader today?
Certainly, honesty and integrity must be at the top of the list. Embracing moral convictions rooted in creational truths is also paramount. Such truths include the dignity and sanctity of human life, male and female as gendered beings at conception, and natural marriage between one man and one woman—all of which are Genesis 1 issues and are now hotly contested in the political arena.
Moses’s father-in-law Jethro gave him sage advice about what to look for in a leader: “and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens,” (Exodus 18:20-21). Leaders are told to fear God and “rejoice with trembling” in Psalm 2:10-11.
Some critics charge that to link such references to the public arena is an imposition of theological beliefs—Christian beliefs in particular. But somebody’s values, based on some moral vision, will eventually prevail. It’s a question of whose values. Consider that morals and values don’t originate in a vacuum. The idea of good has an origin. So does the idea of what constitutes good leadership (which is widely disputed today). The Christian ideal says God-honoring and capable people should lead (Exodus 18:21).
Good leaders hate bribery and corruption in general. Good leaders are service-oriented and put community interest above self-interest. They demonstrate virtues like honesty and integrity. And yet they are human beings with feet of clay. They are sinners like you and me and will fall short. Which brings us to a trait unpopular in political circles, yet necessary for good governance: humility. Good leaders are humble and admit when they’re wrong (tough to do in our unforgiving political climate). Humility may be the most important and yet overlooked character quality of a good leader.
With this in mind, pray for good leadership (1 Timothy 2:1-3). Then put shoe leather to your prayers and vote for good leaders. The polls are open from 6am-6pm beginning Thursday May 14.