ORANGE CITY, Iowa — Pete Buttigieg came to the most Republican county in Iowa to scare up supporters in this conservative, rural corner of the state.

Why would the Democrat throw a pre-caucus rally out here? It’s because these voters represent a different type of conservative. And Buttigieg, who regularly ties his faith to the virtues of compassion and love, thinks that in the Trump era, he can get the Christian conservatives in the tight-knit communities around here to become Democrats for a night.

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