SIGOURNEY, IA. — Although little has been said publicly to suggest that some influential evangelical Christians oppose Michele Bachmann’s candidacy because of her gender, some supporters pushed back against that notion during campaign events on Thursday.

Bachmann, a Republican U.S. representative from Minnesota, is running hard in Iowa ahead of the state’s Jan. 3 caucuses, and depends on success here to advance in subsequent primaries. She is an ardent social conservative and evangelical Christian, and has courted similarly minded voters heavily.