8 GOP hopefuls to make their case to conservatives

Eight presidential candidates, including front-runner Donald Trump, will convene in Washington this weekend for the Values Voter Summit as they look to woo evangelical voters at a time when religious freedom issues dominate the GOP field.

{mosads}With the religious right voting bloc one of the largest single constituencies in the Republican Party, the candidates hope to cement their status as the standard-bearer of religious freedom and win the event’s straw poll. About 2,500 are registered to attend the event.

“Religious liberty is going to become the central issue in this election cycle on domestic and even foreign policy,” Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, which is sponsoring the event, told The Hill in an interview earlier this month.  

“Where do you stand on religious freedom? Is your view of religious freedom your ability to pick a church that you attend or is it the ability to live your life according to your faith? That’s going to be a big issue for conservative voters.”  

Presidential candidates Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and former neurosurgeon Ben Carson will likely be the belles of the ball, as they typically enjoy outsized support from Values Voter attendees. Cruz has won the straw poll for the past two years, winning 25 percent of the vote in 2014, while Carson finished second that year with 20 percent of the vote. 

But this year’s results could be different. In polls this year, both Trump and Carson lead Cruz with evangelical voters nationally. 

Two new polls this week show Cruz trailing among evangelicals. A Fox News poll found Cruz in third place among evangelicals with 12 percent support, compared to 29 percent for Trump and 21 percent for Carson. He came in fourth in a new Quinnipiac University Poll with 9 percent evangelical support compared to 25 percent for Trump, 24 percent for Carson and 11 percent for Carly Fiorina.

Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), who was tied with Fiorina for fourth place in the Fox News poll, could build on that standing in his Friday speech. He has recently stressed his view that abortions should be completely illegal without exceptions for rape or incest and has sharpened his rhetoric against Planned Parenthood ahead of the government funding shutdown over the organization like many other rivals.   

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.), dogged in his support of Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk jailed over her refusal to issue same-sex marriage licenses, is also scheduled to speak at this year’s event. He finished third in last year’s Values Voter straw poll with 12 percent. But he had the support of only 3 percent of evangelicals in the Quinnipiac and Fox News polls.  

Other Republican candidates scheduled to speak are former Sen. Rick Santorum (Penn.), Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), Gov. Bobby Jindal (La.), and Trump, whose appearance wasn’t confirmed until Wednesday. 

Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.) had been slated to speak on Friday morning, but after dropping out of the presidential race earlier this year, he is no longer on the schedule. Gov. Rick Perry (Texas), who dropped out earlier this month, still plans to speak on Friday afternoon.  

The guest list is also notable for the presidential candidates not attending. Former Gov. Jeb Bush (Fla.), Govs. Chris Christie (N.J.) and John Kasich (Ohio), and Fiorina will not be in attendence, although all were invited.  

The annual event comes at a pivotal point in the GOP primary as religious freedom issues have taken center stage. The candidates have all widely condemned Planned Parenthood following the release of controversial videos that has prompted a push to defund the organization that’s evolving into a government shutdown fight. 

Davis will receive the “Cost of Discipleship” award from the summit on Friday night.

Also scheduled to speak at the event is David Daleiden, the anti-abortion activist who has been behind the release of controversial videos attacking Planned Parenthood.