Romney, Huckabee top evangelical poll

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Republican presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee came out on top Saturday in a straw poll among Christian evangelicals meeting in Washington.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, received 27.62 percent support in a straw poll taken at the Values Voters Summit. Huckabee, the governor of Arkansas, received 27.15 percent, the Family Research Council -- sponsor of the summit -- said on its Web site.

The next closest rival, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, received 14.98 percent of the straw poll vote and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson was fourth with 9.77 percent.

Thompson had received a standing ovation when he spoke Friday night at the event, where evangelical activists prayed for guidance and expressed concern with front-runners Romney and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Giuliani received 107 votes in the straw poll, representing 1.85 percent support among the religious conservatives. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan. -- who formally dropped out of the race for the GOP nomination Friday -- received 297 votes Saturday. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., received just 81 votes.

Collectively, the field of candidates for the Democratic nomination in 2008 received 44 votes in the Values Voters Summit.