But no. These churchy folks were sucking on Trump's teat well before and during the primary season, when they had sixteen or so alternatives to choose from. Now look at the primary map and tell me who won almost every Bible Belt state. None other than Donald "New York values" Trump.
I don't think that's quite correct. IIRC, Cruz won among Evangelicals who actually go to church. Trump won among Evangelicals who don't actually go to church. E.g., here's a poll from last March:
This recent column by Peter Beinart is worth reading:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/04/breaking-faith/517785/He argues that Trump's nomination became possible precisely *because* the GOP electorate is less "churchy" than it used to be. There are more now in rural America who aren't really religious anymore, but still identify as "Christian" or even "Evangelical" but aren't religiously observant in any meaningful way, and that's Trump's real base.
