 Philip Klein reports:
The Values Voter Summit Straw Poll results are in. Here's the deal. Mitt Romney just slightly edged out Huckabee when you include Internet votes, by less than a half a percent.
No doubt, there is a dichotomy among conservative opinion as it relates to Mike Huckabee. Social conservatives, such as those at FRC obviously love him, while he would probably have finished dead last if the Club for Growth had held a Straw Poll last week...
When it came to social conservatives who actually heard the speeches live (not internet voters), Huckabee easily won (one wonders what Huckabee could have been if he were only willing and able to raise the necessary money).
Also interesting is that John McCain finished behind Rudy Giuliani (read Rudy's speech here). This underscores the point that in politics, logic leads to conclusions, but emotion leads to action. McCain has been pro-life his entire life, while Giuliani has always been pro-choice. But that doesn't seem to matter when it comes to perception and likeability.
This is from an FRC Action press release:
Nearly six thousand votes - 5,775 - were cast in the first-ever Values Voters Straw Poll at FRC Action*s 2nd Annual Washington Briefing. FRC Action members had the choice of voting on-line, by mail, or at electronic voting stations during this weekend*s event. All presidential candidates from both parties were listed on the ballot.
Candidate Name Total Votes Percentage
1. Mitt Romney 1,595 27.62 %
2. Mike Huckabee 1,565 27.10 %
3. Ron Paul 865 14.98%
4. Fred Thompson 564 9.77 %
5. Sam Brownback 297 5.14 %
6. Duncan Hunter 140 2.42 %
7. Tom Tancredo 133 2.30 %
8. Rudy Giuliani 107 1.85 %
9. John McCain 81 1.40 %
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