Values Voters Want Huckabee

The religious right has spoken, and it wants Mike Huckabee. The former governor of Arkansas and Fox News personality won the Values Voter Summit’s 2012 presidential straw poll on Saturday, scoring more than double the votes of his closest competitors. The crowded field included former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, each of whom won about 12 percent of the 597 votes cast. Huckabee’s comparatively blockbuster 29 percent made him the king of the crop, though the president of the Family Research Council (which hosted the summit) noted that, though Huckabee has “potential,” FRC isn’t ready to endorse. “We want a fully rounded conservative candidate,” he said. “Right now, the door’s wide open.” Newt Gingrich, Bobby Jindal, Ron Paul, and Rick Santorum each won a single-digit share of the vote.