Bush, Kerry Woo Christian Vote During Last Hours of Campaign

Nov 01, 2004 03:04 PM EST

In the last hours of the 2004 Presidential campaign, President Bush and Senator John Kerry breezed through Ohio and Florida, rallying the support of Catholic and Christian voters, Sunday, Oct. 31, 2004. President Bush, a United Methodist, worshiped at The Church of the Epiphany – a Roman Catholic Church in Florida. Meanwhile, Kerry, a Catholic, attended a Catholic Mass in Dayton Ohio, then swung over to a predominantly black church for his second service.

At the Church of the Epiphany, the pastor Monsignor Jude O’Doherty praised Bush for his values.

"Mr. President, I want you to know that I admire your faith and your courage to profess it," the priest during his long tribute to Bush. "Your belief in prayer and dependence on God has to be an example for all of us."

Meanwhile, Kerry, who was attending his fifth predominantly black church service in the past month, criticized Bush without naming him.

"There is a standard by which we have to live. Coming to church on Sundays and talking about faith and professing faith isn't the whole deal,” said Kerry.

The new state polls show that Bush and Kerry are head to head in the top swing states: Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Hampshire and New Mexico.