The Family Research Council sponsored a summit conference this past weekend to consider the various candidates for president. As has been widely reported in the media, there is growing unrest among rank-and-file Christian voters over the narrowing choices being foisted upon us. A number of prominent pro-family leaders have been carping about the lack of leadership coming from national groups historically at the forefront of the pro-Life movement.

It appears that this weekend’s summit was, at least in part, a response to that criticism.

Most of the Republican candidates for president participated in the summit – which drew some 1000 activists from across the nation. Following the official program, leaders of various groups were scheduled to meet in a closed door session to revisit the question of whether they could unite behind a single pro-Life candidate with the object of blocking Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton from winning the Republican nomination and/or the presidency.

We have yet to hear news about the outcome of those discussions.

The Family Research Council is, however, publishing results of a straw poll on its legislative website. Participants at the conference were allowed to vote – as well as folks across the nation via internet balloting.

Of those attending, Huckabee received 51% of votes cast. He was followed by Romney at 10%, Fred Thompson at 8% and Duncan Hunter at 6%.

But the numbers for Romney jumped dramatically when off-site votes are included:

* Huckabee 27%
* Romney 27%
* Paul 15%
* Thompson 10%
* Undecided 6%

Given the discomfort many pro-Lifers feel about Romney’s historical support for abortion rights, this published straw poll suggests that people like Don Wildmon, Tony Perkins and James Dobson may start pushing the grassroots to lock in behind Mike Huckabee as the strongest pro-family candidate.

But that strategy is fraught with problems – not least of which is the fact that Huckabee has only $400,000 in the bank, according to a different section of this same FRC website. (By contrast, Giuliani is reported to have $18 million, followed by Romney at $12 million.) The former governor also has substantial problems among fiscal conservatives for his record in Arkansas.