Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: The Iowa caucuses aren't until February 1, but off-year mayoral races are hitting the home stretch. In Nashville, a campaign focused on affordable housing and traffic has taken a detour into religion. Blake Farmer of member station WPLN reports that one candidate is sowing doubt about his opponent's Christian faith.BLAKE FARMER, BYLINE: It started with phone calls and emails whispering that frontrunner Megan Barry is an atheist, which she is not. It's no small accusation in a state like Tennessee that still has a law banning atheists from public office. Her opponent, David Fox, a businessman and former school board chairman, called it malicious gossip.DAVID FOX: You know, I don't want to have anything to do that sort of stuff.FARMER: Then, a Fox radio ad aired the week before Election Day. No A-word, but it implies Barry opposes public prayer and pick fights with faith-based groups.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)UNIDENTIFIED
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