WASHINGTON (ABP) — Voters in an Oct. 20 straw poll seemed to confirm what many pundits have said all along: Conservative Christians simply will not support a presidential candidate who backs abortion rights.
In the second-largest straw poll of this campaign, 5,775 self-described “values voters” said they will vote for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the 2008 election. Longshot Mike Huckabee, the Southern Baptist minister and former Arkansas governor, came in a close second, only 30 votes behind Romney.
The votes were announced at the second annual “Values Voters Summit,” sponsored by conservative groups including the Family Research Council and held in Washington. More than 2,500 people attended the event, organizers said.
Noticeably absent from the top vote-getters was Republican Rudy Giuliani, who supports abortion rights. The former mayor of New York regularly leads national GOP polls but has apparently been unable to convince “values voters” of his conservative credentials.
“You have absolutely nothing to fear from me,” Giuliani told the crowd Oct. 20. “I find it difficult understanding those who try to make me out as an activist for liberal causes. If you think that, just read any New York Times editorial while I was mayor of New York City.”
Giuliani placed eighth out of nine candidates, with 1.8 percent of the vote. Other lead names in the poll were Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, with almost 15 percent of the vote, and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who received nearly 10 percent of votes. Romney and Huckabee received 27.6 percent and 27.1 percent of the votes, respectively.
John McCain (R-Ariz.) received the lowest percentage of support out of all Republican candidates, with less than 1.5 percent of voters choosing him. All presidential candidates from both parties were listed on the ballot.
At a press conference after FRC President Tony Perkins announced the results, some reporters and at least one “extremely disappointed” FRC member questioned the method of the survey, which allowed FRC members to vote by mail, online or at voting stations at the Washington event.
Some said the poll could have been compromised by online voters, who had not heard the candidates' speeches during the summit. Indeed, Huckabee won overwhelmingly among people who heard him speak. He received more than 51 percent of the 952 votes that were cast at the event. Romney received only 10 percent of the votes from on-site participants and was booed when his name was listed as winning the poll.
Many conservative Christians have been suspicious of Romney. A Mormon, he formerly supported abortion rights, gay rights and embryonic stem-cell research.
Perkins assured reporters that no FRC members were able to vote more than once. He declined to say whether or not he was surprised with the results.
“We're not here to draw conclusions, [and] we're not here to endorse candidates,” he said. “We're here to give voice to the values voters across this country who want to see a candidate that embraces and promotes their values.”
The former Louisiana state legislator did reiterate, however, that conservative Christians had “drawn a line that we will not cross in supporting a pro-abortion candidate.”
“I would not say that it is an insignificant issue that we have that causes us to disagree,” Perkins said. “It's not something that can be let go of easily. The life issue is a very fundamental issue.”
During his speech, Giuliani had asked the crowd, “Isn't it better that I tell you what I really believe, instead of pretending to change all of my positions to fit the prevailing winds?”
He said trust is more important than “100-percent agreement.”
“I'm not going to pretend to you that [I] can be all things to all people. I'm just not like that. I can't do that,” he said. “And you know that we have some areas of disagreement. But I believe we have many, many more areas of agreement.”
Perkins said Huckabee would “get the biggest bounce” from the straw poll. Nationally, Huckabee has polled well behind GOP leaders Giuliani and Romney, who won opinion surveys in the key states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
Earlier, Huckabee told the crowd he spoke “not as one who comes to you, but as one who comes from you.”
“We're values voters because of our commitment to freedom and family and also because of our commitment to faith,” he said.
Later he said, “I do not spell God G-O-P. Our party may be important, but our principles are even more important.”
Also notable on the poll were the “most important” issues for voters in determining their opinion of the candidate they would choose. Abortion took the top spot with 41 percent of the vote. Same-sex marriage came in second with almost 20 percent of the vote. Tax cuts and permanent tax relief for families each received roughly 10 percent of the vote. The war in Iraq was not listed as an option.
One area where onsite and online voters did agree was on which candidate is the least acceptable as president of the United States. In both instances, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) received more than 71 percent of the vote.
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