Republican Rand Paul is going to take his politicking to moderate voters, and away from fire-breathing ultra-conservatism that turns off people who favor same-sex marriage and abortion rights, he said in Iowa today.

But he also met for a full hour with deeply conservative Iowa pastors — a team of men who came away impressed, saying they’re certain that Paul has “a Biblical world view” and the Christian values they’re looking for in a presidential candidate.

“Elections are about independents and moderates,” Paul, a U.S. senator from Kentucky who has all but declared a White House bid for 2016, told reporters at a news conference this afternoon.

Paul’s trip was seen as a way to introduce himself as a presidential material in his own right, not just as a surrogate for his father Ron, a three-time presidential candidate. His itinerary seemed like one Iowans might see a month out from the 2015 caucuses. He booked a GOP fundraising dinner, a house party, a breakfast with activists and the private meeting with about 15 pastors who are influential with the GOP’s most faithful caucus-goers.

While Rand Paul, 50, and Ron Paul, 77, share the same limited-government philosophy and many of the same policy positions, their public personas are considered very different. The younger Paul, despite some recent controversies over statements that appeared to backtrack on his policy positions, is generally viewed as smoother and more credible than his father — with a promising strategy for a White House victory.

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