WASHINGTON (RNS) Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was the clear favorite among attendees of the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit in a straw poll of 10 possible Republican presidential candidates in 2012.
Huckabee won 28 percent of the 597 votes cast in two days of balloting that ended Saturday (Sept. 19). Four candidates — former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., — tied for second place, each with about 12 percent.
“He is well-oiled,” said Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council and its political arm, FRC Action. “I don’t think he’s missed a beat from where he left off in the (2008) presidential race.”
There were no Democrats on the ballot because FRC officials assume President Obama will be the likely Democratic nominee in 2012.
While several of the candidates on the straw poll addressed the summit, including Pawlenty and Romney, Huckabee was the only candidate with an organized presence; volunteers for his Huck PAC political action committee were visible with their red t-shirts.
“Its always flattering to win one of these but it’s a long way from deciding to run and from the election,” Huckabee said on his Huck PAC Web site. “My heartfelt thanks for the affirmation of the people at the values voter summit.”
Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, had been invited to speak but could not attend. Perkins said candidates who stopped by to rally the base had a better chance of finishing on top and gaining long-term support.
“If you’re not present and not connecting with people, you’re not going to be in the forefront of their minds during a straw poll,” he said.
Huckabee, a former Southern Baptist pastor, narrowly lost the 2007 straw poll to Romney when online votes were allowed, but swept the on-site voting with 51 percent to Romney’s 10 percent. That win help carry Huckabee to win the Iowa GOP caucuses in 2008 before his campaign lost steam to Sen. John McCain.
Perkins said he detected “much greater appreciation” for Huckabee in the latest round of balloting, especially compared to his first speech at the summit when many attendees seemed skeptical about his fiscal conservative bona fides.
“He clearly understands the issues that move Americans, that are important,” Perkins said. “I think he has his finger better on the pulse of conservatives.”
