When the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition plays host to nine Republican White House hopefuls this weekend, the conservative Christian group will simply be pursuing its stated mission to "take back our state and country."
Republican Chris Christie is facing pressure to step up the pace in forming a likely presidential campaign and to slow the defection of financial donors to rivals like Jeb Bush in order to keep alive his 2016 White House dream.
Most Republicans running in tight U.S. Senate races in November's midterm elections can rely on campaign endorsements from a few national figures. But most Republicans are not Joni Ernst.
