Here are top finishers among potential Republican presidential contenders in a straw poll of conservative activists at the Values Voter Summit. Those in bold spoke at the gathering.
1. Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, 24%
2. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, 22%
3. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, 13%
4. Former House speaker Newt Gingrich, 10%
5. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, 7%
6. Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, 5%
7. Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, 5%
8. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, 2%
9. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, 2%
10. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, 2%
11. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, 2%
By Kathy Kielyvar storyTitle = "Is GOP platform large enough for Tea Party?";var articleSummary = "Along with Democrats, Republican conservative activists are worrying about being swamped by the surge of Tea Party enthusiasm this year. 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The surprise winner of the group's presidential straw poll, Rep. Mike Pence, delivered one of the strongest denunciations of "those who would have us ignore the battle being fought over life, marriage, religious liberty."
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"We must demand, here and now, that the leaders of the Republican Party stand for life, traditional marriage and religious liberty without apology," the Indiana Republican declared.
And the newest star of the Tea Party movement, Delaware Republican Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell, went out of her way to establish her bona fides when she addressed the group. She identified herself as one of "those who had toiled for years in the values movement."
The Tea Party has drawn big crowds to protest against the cost of President Obama's health care bill, his economic stimulus program and his proposal to let some of former president George W. Bush's tax cuts expire.
Christian conservatives, a key element of the Republican coalition for more than three decades, are actively seeking reassurance that they are not going to be displaced. Last week, one key Tea Party strategist, Matt Kibbe, felt compelled to tell reporters at a breakfast meeting that "the Tea Party movement is not anti-religion."
Yet Kibbe, president of FreedomWorks, a Washington think tank that has helped local Tea Party activists, is one of a number of movement leaders who have called for more focus on the economy.
One reason is that economic issues have broader appeal with independent voters who decide fall elections.
"This is not a movement based on social issues," Melanie Morgan, a former talk show host who has been active in Tea Party Express, told USA TODAY earlier this year. "Many conservatives are involved only because of the fiscal aspect of smaller government, of lower taxation, of an accountability as far as the debt is concerned, the runaway spending by the liberal Congress."
Concerned that some of their causes might be left off a legislative platform that Republican congressional leaders are drafting for the fall campaign, three socially conservative organizations last week unveiled 20,000 signatures on petitions demanding that the party's priority list include "family values issues," such as a ban on abortion.
"It would be an electorally costly mistake" for the GOP not to include them, said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, which funds female candidates opposed to abortion.
At the Values Voter Summit, potential Republican presidential contenders objected to downplaying a conservative social agenda.
"There are a lot of people who say this is not a year when we should be talking about social issues, values issues," said Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor. Huckabee, a Baptist minister who came in second in the group's presidential straw poll, argued that the nation's financial meltdown can be linked to a moral breakdown.
"Many of our economic issues are the result of the breakdown of something of character and integrity," said Huckabee, citing the "unmitigated greed" of Wall Street.
Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum urged the audience to push back against "the people who come out and tell us that we have to put the values issues in the back of the bus."
And Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., argued, "You can't be a real fiscal conservative if you do not understand the value of a culture that's based on values."
Many summit participants endorsed those sentiments. Elaine Tornero of Columbus, Ohio, said she believes most people in the Tea Party movement share her socially conservative values. "I've been to several Tea Party meetings. We seem to be on the same page," she said.
Tornero has heard the arguments against raising issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage: "It's like, yeah, don't say that; it'll turn 'em off," she said. She's not buying it.
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