Evangelical voters played a major role in Super Tuesday’s Republican primaries, especially in the South, providing a huge boost for former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and possibly costing Mitt Romney victory in some states, analysts said.
Nationally, Huckabee, Romney and Senator John McCain roughly split the evangelical vote, exit polls showed yesterday. But in the South, the vote among Christian conservatives was significant, and Huckabee drew the largest percentage of them by far.
For example, in Alabama, 78 percent of GOP primary voters said they are evangelical Christians, and 48 percent of them supported Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister. Their votes helped Huckabee win the state, reviving his struggling campaign.
An ebullient Huckabee, speaking to cheering supporters, declared that his strength in the South has made the Republican primary campaign a two-man race, “and we’re in it.”
Huckabee also won large shares of the evangelical vote in Georgia, Tennessee and Missouri.
In other parts of the country, the percentage of conservative Christian voters was smaller, and they spread their support among the three candidates. For example, in Massachusetts, only 20 percent of Republican primary voters described themselves as evangelicals, but 60 percent of them favored former governor Romney, according to exit polls. In Illinois, meanwhile, 42 percent of Republican voters said they were evangelical Christians, and 38 percent supported McCain.
Read it all.
Evangelical voters bolster Huckabee in Southern states
Evangelical voters played a major role in Super Tuesday’s Republican primaries, especially in the South, providing a huge boost for former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and possibly costing Mitt Romney victory in some states, analysts said.
Nationally, Huckabee, Romney and Senator John McCain roughly split the evangelical vote, exit polls showed yesterday. But in the South, the vote among Christian conservatives was significant, and Huckabee drew the largest percentage of them by far.
For example, in Alabama, 78 percent of GOP primary voters said they are evangelical Christians, and 48 percent of them supported Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister. Their votes helped Huckabee win the state, reviving his struggling campaign.
An ebullient Huckabee, speaking to cheering supporters, declared that his strength in the South has made the Republican primary campaign a two-man race, “and we’re in it.”
Huckabee also won large shares of the evangelical vote in Georgia, Tennessee and Missouri.
In other parts of the country, the percentage of conservative Christian voters was smaller, and they spread their support among the three candidates. For example, in Massachusetts, only 20 percent of Republican primary voters described themselves as evangelicals, but 60 percent of them favored former governor Romney, according to exit polls. In Illinois, meanwhile, 42 percent of Republican voters said they were evangelical Christians, and 38 percent supported McCain.
Read it all.