des moines -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has fought for months to unite social conservatives behind his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
But his weekend victory in an Iowa straw poll only underscored the fierce competition he still faces for conservatives who remain wary of the GOP's top White House contenders.
"Clearly, no one has consolidated the conservative vote," said Whit Ayres, a Republican strategist unaligned in the presidential race.
The mock election that Romney won at a state party fundraiser in Ames on Saturday was purely symbolic, and of questionable value as a gauge of Republican voters in Iowa.
Still, the popularity of two rivals seeking to corner the Christian right's support -- former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas -- exposed the limits of Romney's appeal among conservatives. Combined, Huckabee and Brownback, who placed second and third, won more votes in the straw poll than Romney did.
Posing a potentially stronger challenge to Romney is former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee, a "Law & Order" television star who has targeted conservatives as his core constituency in the run-up to a formal announcement of his candidacy.
National polls suggest Thompson carries strong appeal with the religious right. He skipped the Ames contest, and plans to campaign in Iowa for the first time Friday at the state fair in Des Moines.
Also in Romney's way is Rudolph W. Giuliani. The former New York mayor has not forsaken social conservatives, even if his support for legalized abortion, gay rights and gun control poses serious difficulties with that group. On a trip across Iowa last week, Giuliani called for steps encouraging adoption as an alternative to abortion.
In Iowa, where Giuliani is to campaign again Wednesday, conservative evangelicals are a potent force in Republican elections, especially when unified behind one candidate in a crowded contest. Iowa's precinct caucuses are scheduled to kick off the 2008 party nomination balloting in five months.
Romney has steadily gained a lead in Iowa Republican polls, but Giuliani remains the front-runner in national surveys. Gary Bauer, a conservative leader who ran for president in 2000, said Giuliani's "problem on values issues will loom larger" once religious conservatives rally behind someone else.
"He only looks formidable because the vote's being split nine different ways," Bauer said.
