During a television debate in her race for governor in October 2006, Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin said the following with regard to religious leaders endorsing candidates:

"A pastor, a priest, a rabbi, certainly they have the freedom to say whatever they want to say. And you know, thank the lord that we do have that freedom of speech.
"Faith is very important to so many of us here in America, and I would never support any government effort to stifle our freedom of religion or freedom of expression or freedom of speech. You know, I would just caution maybe a pastor to be very careful if they're in front of a congregation and they decide to endorse one candidate over another. You know, there may be some frustration with that candidacy endorsement being made manifest by a few, fewer dollars in the offering plate, so I would just offer that bit of caution. (laughing.) But, no, I'll tell you, freedom of speech is so precious and it's worth defending and of course freedom of religion and freedom of expression will be things that I will fight for."

In order to maintain their tax status, churches and other tax-exempt organizations are prohibited from becoming involved in partisan politics.  A religious leader’s free speech rights end when making endorsements of political candidates before their congregations or speaking as leaders of their church, synagogue or mosque.   

In her current role we expect that Palin realizes that a religious institution will lose their tax status, in addition to potentially losing a "few dollars on the offering plate," if they endorse a political candidate.