The Trail

Strang is an antiabortion Republican and the son of well-known evangelical Steven Strang, founder of a Christian magazine publishing company who has endorsed Obama's rival, Sen. John McCain.

The younger Strang explained his change of heart on his blog:

"A few weeks ago, I was asked if I'd be interested in possibly praying at the Democratic National Convention. Taken aback, but intrigued at the opportunity, I accepted. What better way to continue positive dialogue, show support for an emphasis on faith issues and pray in a forum where faith isn't typically thought to be emphasized? To quote someone close to me -- and meaning no disrespect whatsoever to Christian Democrats -- it was a chance to be 'light in the darkness.' And hey, Jesus told us to pray, right? . . .

"Then I found out the invocation was to be on the main stage, opening night of the DNC. Part of the national broadcast. Most people would jump at such an exposure opportunity, but it gave me serious pause."

Obama's campaign has spent the last several months reaching out to the religious community and has lavished considerable attention on young evangelicals, hoping they can provide an inroad into the Republican voting bloc.

-- Krissah Williams Thompson