FRISCO — Elevate Life Church pastor Keith Craft urged his congregation to support Rod Vilhauer in the upcoming Frisco mayoral runoff, framing the race as a spiritual battle for the soul of the city and referring to Islam as a “demonic agenda.”
Craft made the remarks during a service the day after the May 2 general election. Vilhauer advanced to a June 13 runoff against Mark Hill after no candidate received a majority of the vote in the race for the city’s first open mayoral seat in nine years.
The longtime Frisco pastor told the church that Muslims are “making a play” for the city and described Islam not as a religion but as an “ideology from hell.” He said demonic agendas have been spreading in Frisco and encouraged the congregation to “show up like an army at the polls” on June 13. Craft laid hands on Vilhauer during the service and prayed for him, calling him the right man to lead the city.
Keith Craft, lead pastor at Elevate Life Church in Frisco, said his congregation should vote for mayoral candidate Rod Vilhauer, who helped build the church. https://t.co/hZPPFGCtek
— Dallas Morning News (@dallasnews) May 13, 2026
Vilhauer, a retired construction business owner and longtime member of Elevate Life Church, has lived in Frisco since 1986. His company performed excavation work for the church’s first building, and he made the first $1 million donation to the congregation. He has campaigned on stopping the spread of Sharia law in Frisco and has previously described Islam as not a religion but a terrorist group.
Frisco has experienced rapid growth in recent decades, with its population increasing about 40 percent and becoming more racially and religiously diverse. The mayoral race has highlighted tensions over those changes.
Mustafaa Carroll, executive director of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, criticized the rhetoric, saying Islam has become a “political football” used to energize certain voters in Texas elections.
The runoff election is scheduled for Saturday, June 13, 2026. Early voting runs June 1-9.
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