Huckabee Benefits From Evangelical Turnout In Iowa

Presidential hopeful and Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee earned a surprisingly decisive win in the Iowa caucuses Thursday, a victory pundits say resulted from a high evangelical Christian voter turnout, The New York Times reported.

Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, garnered 34 percent of the vote in the Republican primary election, defeating rival Republican candidate Mitt Romney, who mustered only 25 percent, according to CNN.com. Both candidates claim to be social conservatives.

“I think the evangelical Christians came out for him,” said William Bennett, CNN political analyst and prominent conservative. “The message was very clear.”

Voters who said religious values matter “a great deal” to them voted overwhelmingly for Huckabee—56 percent to Romney’s 11, according to entrance polls.

Religion has played a huge role in Romney's candidacy. The Massachusetts governor, who is Mormon, has spoken frequently on how he hopes to unite Americans of different faiths. 

Other percentage tallies for GOP candidates included Rep. Fred Thompson,13; Sen. John McCain, 10; and Rep. Ron Paul, 10. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani earned only 4 percent.

On the Democratic side, Sen. Barack Obama prevailed with 38 percent to 30 percent for Sen. John Edwards and 29 percent for Sen. Hillary Clinton. The next primary is Tuesday in New Hampshire.