In a straw poll held at this weekend's Values Voters Summit in Washington, social conservatives sent two messages and previewed how an important segment of the GOP electorate will react after one of their own, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, called it quits.

Voters could cast ballots both on-site, at a Washington hotel, or online. As expected, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee performed well in front of voters he will need if he has any hope of overcoming chronic money woes in early primary states. No one, however, expected Huckabee to perform this well. Among on-site voters, Huckabee attracted a stunning 51% of the nearly 1000 ballots cast.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, by comparison, finished second with 10%. Still, Romney's campaign has something to brag about. In the online portion of the poll, Romney finished first, though less than one half of one percent ahead of Huckabee.

If the results are any indication of where supporters of now-former candidate Sam Brownback will go, Huckabee can count on strong backing from Christian conservatives, while Romney's campaign must be breathing easier knowing that, for a significant portion of Christian voters, his Mormonism is not a deal-breaking issue.

For John McCain, who has lately made a stronger push for social conservative votes, the results are not inspiring. Even after a speech to the group yesterday that received some applause, McCain finished close to the bottom in both polls. Rudy Giuliani, as expected, finished behind most candidates as well. Summit-goers yesterday were skeptical of his efforts to make peace with voters whose ideology he has largely opposed through his career.

The straw poll, conducted yesterday and today, comes a day before Republicans meet in Orlando for a debate broadcast live on Fox News. I will be on-site as the Florida Republican Party holds its Presidency IV event for young political activists in conjunction with the debate. Giuliani, Fred Thompson and Romney have all put campaign resources in Florida.

The full results:

On Site
Huckabee 488 (51.3%)
Romney 99 (10.4)
Thompson 77 (8.1)
Tancredo 65 (6.8)
Giuliani 60 (6.3)
Hunter 54 (5.7)
McCain 30 (3.2)
Brownback 26 (2.7)
Paul 25 (2.6)
Undecided 11 (1.2)

Online
Romney 1595 (27.6%)
Huckabee 1565 (27.2)
Paul 865 (15)
Thompson 564 (9.8)
Brownback 297 (5.1)
Hunter 140 (2.4)
Tancredo 133 (2.3)
Giuliani 107 (1.9)
McCain 81 (1.4)
Undecided 329 (5.7)