Washington D.C., Mar 9, 2008 / 00:01 am
Exit polls from the Republican primaries in Texas and Ohio illustrate that evangelicals voted overwhelmingly for Mike Huckabee, though McCain was already dubbed the “presumptive nominee”, reports Cybercast News Service. Analysts predict that McCain will have to win the support of evangelicals to win the presidency in November.
MSNBC’s exit polls showed that in Texas, 60% of those who attend church more than once a week voted for Huckabee while only 33% supported McCain. Ohio demonstrated a similar trend with 54% of church attendees choosing Huckabee and 45% backing McCain.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council told Cybercast News Service, "McCain can get that vote in November but he is going to have to work for it. It would be a mistake to assume the conservative vote is just going to gravitate to the Republican nominee."
He continued saying that McCain must be more proactive in reaching out to conservatives if he expects evangelicals to come out to vote for him in November. "He already has the voting record to back up his claim to be a conservative, but he has never led on evangelical issues. He is going to have to lead if he wants to get the socially conservative vote."