Pray and vote, says Franklin Graham as he begins 50-State tour 

'Decision America': Franklin Graham launches 50-State tour   

Franklin Graham begins a 50-State tour of the US tomorrow on the steps of the state Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Samaritan's Purse founder's Decision America Tour is billed as a series of noon prayer rallies in each state throughout 2016. He says he wants to encourage those who attend to pray for America.

In an earlier Facebook post he said: "I want to challenge Christians to pray, to get out and vote for candidates who support biblical values, and to get involved by running for office at all levels – school board, city council, mayor, state representative, and more. This could be the most important election in our nation's history. America has got some decisions to make – decisions that will affect our children and our grandchildren!"

Graham announced that he was leaving the Republican Party, with which he has been closely identified, just before Christmas. He said then: "I'm not going to support any party. This 50-state tour is not for the Republican Party." He added: "I'm as disappointed in them as I am the Democrats."

Graham has reiterated his denial of a political motive in his tour, saying in a Facebook post: "Some fear I might be leading an exodus out of the Republican Party. That's not my goal at all. I'm not here to hurt the Republican Party or the Democratic Party – I want to help our nation. I want to stand on capitol steps and lead this nation state by state in praying for America."

He continued: "We'll be praying for our leaders and praying that God would give us politicians who will stand for Biblical values. I want to challenge Christians to get involved in the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and all others to make a difference; to get engaged at every level and to vote.

"The Bible calls us to be salt and light in this world – it's time we got off the sidelines and got involved in actively working and praying to stop the moral decline of this great nation."

While Graham denies a political motivation, his natural constituency of white evangelicals are overwhelmingly Republican voters. They will hear his probable references to moral issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage as coded encouragements to vote for candidates who take a conservative line, even if he avoids directly naming them.