Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson died on Thursday at 93 after serving as a central religious figure in the Republican Party over the decades.
Robertson’s death was announced by the Christian Broadcasting Network, the Associated Press reported. No cause of death was provided.
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The broadcaster was a household name thanks to his 700 Club television show, as well as his work at religious organizations and schools, such as Regent University, the American Center for Law and Justice, and Operation Blessing.
Robertson sought the GOP nomination for president in 1988, placing second place in the Iowa caucuses. He caught the eye of voters after insisting that he would only run for the White House if 3 million followers signed petitions. Pursuing the support of Christian evangelicals is a tactic now common among GOP hopefuls, including current 2024 Republican presidential candidates.
He later went on to endorse former President George H.W. Bush, who was then the vice president under former President Ronald Reagan.
In 1989, Robertson organized the Christian Coalition, a significant grassroots movement in the 1990s that helped rally conservative voters. He resigned from the organization as its president in 2001 to focus on ministerial work.
After graduating with his master’s degree from the New York Theological Seminary in 1959, Robertson bought a bankrupt UHF television station and turned it into his long-running network.
The Christian Broadcasting Network went on the air in October 1961 as a tax-exempt religious nonprofit organization, bringing in hundreds of millions over the years.
Robertson’s effect on religion and politics in the United States was “enormous,” John C. Green, professor at the University of Akron, told the Associated Press.
Green said Robertson helped “cement the alliance between conservative Christians and the Republican Party” in American politics.
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Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a current 2024 GOP presidential candidate, released a statement on Robertson’s passing on Thursday.
“Pat Robertson touched so many lives and changed so many hearts. He stood for America — and more importantly, for truth and faith. He did the Lord’s work and we will always remember his witness,” Haley said.
