Growing up, Nathan Tabor's parents called him "the little politician" because he would talk to anyone.

Now Tabor is trying to trade on that talent as he runs for the Republican nomination for the 5th Congressional District.

Tabor's parents, Byran and Suzanne, gave him more than a nickname. They instilled in him a religiousness that can be seen in much of his campaign.

His father is an ordained minister. Probably more than any other candidate in the race, Nathan Tabor has a fundamentalist element to his campaign. Tabor has been endorsed by the Revs. Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell.

As a child living in Huntsville, Ala., Tabor watched his parents lobby against the school system. He said they fought for creationism, rather than evolution, to be taught in the schools.

"They always voted," Tabor said. "They've always kept up with the political scene."

Tabor grew to share their literal interpretation of the Bible.

"We were taught about this, but we were also taught that this was something we had to personally accept," Tabor said.

Tabor's faith can be seen in his campaign materials, including a flier titled "Biblical Reasons to be Involved in Politics." The flier says that civil government began when God instructed Noah after the flood and continues today through Mosaic law that became the foundation of the judicial system.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy says that Mosaic law "begins with the Ten Commandments and includes the many rules of religious observance given in the first five books of the Old Testament."

"Government is a God-ordained authority," Tabor said. "I believe you're either voting for God or against God."

He said that homosexuality, abortion and drugs are symptoms of the problems facing the United States.

"The problem we have in America ... is people do not understand Jesus Christ and do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ," Tabor said.

The Tabor family moved to Forsyth County when Nathan was 13, after his father obtained a master's degree in Biblical theology.

Tabor went to Christian schools in North Carolina before attending St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg on a basketball scholarship.

Tabor said he developed an interest in politics, and did internships - including ones with Oliver North and former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms - over the next few years as he graduated from St. Andrews and then a graduate program in public policy at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va.

In 1999, Tabor joined the family business, Physicians Laboratories Inc., after working in Virginia for the American Diabetes Association and on the governor's campaign of former Attorney General Mark Earley of Virginia.

Tabor is the company's vice president of sales and marketing. His brother, Aaron, started the company, which makes the Revival Soy food supplements. Nathan Tabor has declined to say how much of the company he owns.

He said that his business experience makes him a good candidate. The company has been successful enough to put Tabor's net worth at between $1 million and $5.1 million, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Tabor has put about $460,000 of his own money in the race.

Tabor runs on a platform that sounds familiar in this heavily conservative campaign: pro-gun, pro-traditional values, pro-life and anti-tax. He has a 10-step plan to lower taxes, and emphasizes that no other candidate has a written tax plan.

Jack Stewart, a former chairman of the Forsyth County Republican Party, said that Tabor stands out in the crowded GOP field.

"We have a good bunch of candidates, but I think he can do the best job," Stewart said. Stewart described Tabor as politically savvy and solid on such conservative issues as lowering taxes. He said that Tabor's success with Revival Soy shows that he can succeed in attracting jobs to the area.

Tabor's newness to politics would also be an asset to the district, Stewart said.

"He's not taking a lot of baggage with him as far as any people pushing or backing him," Stewart said.

Tabor said he believes that the most pressing national issues are jobs and the fight against terrorism, but the national issues are different from what primary voters in the 5th District care about: God and family values, gun rights and lower taxes.

At 30, Tabor is by far the youngest candidate in the Republican primary. Some have wondered why Tabor decided to run for a federal office with no political experience. He lives in the same district as state Rep. Michael Decker, who faces a tough re-election campaign after switching from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party and back.

Tabor said he has no political baggage, and likens himself to Richard Burr in 1994, when Burr first won election to Congress. At the time, however, Burr was 38 and had lost in 1992 to U.S. Rep. Steve Neal. Tabor says that Donald Rumsfeld was 30 when he was first elected to Congress and that Dan Quayle was 29.

Tabor's campaign has hit some bumps. He was the subject of "Pastor Randy" e-mails sent randomly across the region, in which a fictional pastor exhorted Tabor's supporters to pray for Tabor as he went to court on charges of speeding and driving without a license.

Tabor blamed the e-mail on the campaign of Vernon Robinson, a Winston-Salem City Council member, but Robinson said that no one associated with his campaign had anything to do with it.

Tabor then drew the wrath of District Attorney Tom Keith of Forsyth County in April, when Tabor's attorney persuaded an assistant district attorney to issue a subpoena to Cox Communications. The subpoena requested account information from Cox for an Internet address that appeared in the Pastor Randy email.

Cox responded to the subpoena with information showing that the address matched an account belonging to Jack Daly, a volunteer on Robinson's campaign. Daly's wife, Kay, is a paid consultant to Robinson's campaign.

The Dalys and Robinson denied having anything to do with the e-mail.

Keith was angry because he said he felt that Tabor manipulated his office into issuing a subpoena after his office had told Kernersville police that it would not investigate who sent the e-mail.

Tabor denies that he manipulated anybody. "We didn't go around (Keith)," he said.

Tabor has said he would not engage in negative campaigning, which he describes as making up lies, as opposed to fact-based campaigning.

But Tabor has sometimes struggled with the truth. He once said that Jay Helvey, a former managing director at J.P. Morgan & Co. and also a candidate for the 5th District Republican nomination, put everything he owned in his wife's name, which Helvey had not done.

"I'll retract and say sorry on that," Tabor said.

Earlier this week, Tabor said that Robinson took a $3,500 monthly salary from his campaign before retracting the comment after learning that it wasn't true.

A Winston-Salem Journal poll of likely Republican primary voters showed Tabor in fifth place with two weeks left in the primary.

Tabor had 8 percent. Ed Broyhill led all candidates with 19 percent.

Tabor said he is undeterred.

He said that his opponents have peaked after spending millions of dollars on ads, while his ad campaign just started.

"We're in the best position of this campaign," he said.

ï Theo Helm can be reached at 727-7481 or at thelm@wsjournal.com