GOP faith ambassador resigns, citing party's 'tone deaf attitude' towards voting bloc

The national GOP's first-ever director of evangelical outreach has announced his resignation, citing the political party's "tone deaf attitude" toward a crucial Republican voting bloc.

Chad Connelly, who had served as the Republican National Committee's (RNC) director of the Faith Engagement Initiative since 2013, complained that religious outreach has not been prioritized by the party under the leadership structure implemented by President Donald Trump's administration.

"The treatment I received from the new political department has been disrespectful, antagonistic and unacceptable," Connelly wrote in an email circulated to close friends last week. "GOP Faith in general and me in particular, just don't have the priority I anticipated," he added.

Connelly said that he was surprised by "the treatment I received but mostly at the tone deaf attitude" toward religious voters from RNC officials.

The RNC rejected Connelly's claims and said that his resignation had more to do with concerns about his job performance.

"Chad failed to meet simple metrics, expectations and responsibilities crucial to his duties at the RNC. Because of the importance of faith engagement to the RNC, it was time to move in a new direction in the department in order to expand our efforts," RNC political director Juston Johnson stated, as reported by Associated Press.

Connelly, who previously served as the chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, was tapped by former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus in 2013 to be the RNC's director of faith engagement.

In his email, he highlighted the importance of the nation's faith community in winning the elections.

"Pastors and faith leaders and people sitting in pews are THE key element in winning elections. An increase in church engagement of only a few percentage points is often the difference in victory and defeat," he wrote.

Trump's victory in the last presidential election has been partially attributed to his popularity among white evangelical voters. He garnered the votes of 81 percent of white evangelical Christians, a figure higher than the GOP's last three presidential nominees.

In 2008, 73 percent of white evangelical Protestants voted for John McCain, a longtime critic of the Christian Right. Mitt Romney, a Mormon, won the votes of 79 percent of white evangelicals in 2012 — the same margin of support that George W. Bush received in 2004.

Johnson had vowed that the RNC's faith and engagement team would have "a larger footprint" in the 2018 midterm elections.