RUTHFULLY YOURS

Indiana Rep. Mike Pence’s win in a straw poll of social conservatives over the weekend puts a new name in the mix for the GOP presidential contest in 2012.

Mr. Pence, the third-ranking Republican in the House, won the “Values Voter” poll for the 2012 GOP nomination conducted by the Family Research Council Action, with 170, or 24% of votes. He beat out other social-conservative favorites, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who finished second, with 22%, and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, fifth with 7%. Ms. Palin didn’t attend the event.

Jockeying among potential contenders in the GOP field for 2012 is intensifying. As the field gets sorted out, there is bound to be a fight among some candidates to claim the role representing social and Christian conservatives, a space filled by Mr. Huckabee in 2008.

Political analysts say Mr. Pence has credibility among establishment Republicans, as well as with the tea-party movement and social conservatives, which could could make him a contender for the presidential nomination..

The tea-party movement has focused heavily on government fiscal responsibility, and many of its activists distrust establishment Republicans after the federal deficit run-ups over the last decade. Mr. Pence, a five-term congressman, is one of the few elected members of Congress to speak at tea-party rallies.

Brian Darling, director of Senate relations for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative, Washington-based think tank, said Mr. Pace has “important qualities” that voters will be looking for in 2012. “He’s a sitting member of the House who can talk both to the tea-party movement and the social conservatives and bring them together,” he said.

Mr. Pence opposes abortion and gay marriage—key issues for social conservatives—and has credentials with fiscal conservatives. In addition to battling President Barack Obama’s fiscal policies, he led a failed revolt against former President George W. Bush’s campaign for federal prescription-drug benefits for the elderly, saying he didn’t want to create new federal entitlements. He also voted against the 2008 Wall Street-bailout bill advanced by the Bush administration.

“We do not consent to runaway federal spending by either political party. And we demand an end to the borrowing, spending and bailouts once and for all,” Mr. Pence said at a tea-party rally in Washington earlier this month.

The lawmaker, 51 years old, got his law degree at Indiana University School of Law in 1986, before launching a career as an Indiana radio talk-show host. After losing congressional races in 1988 and 1990, he was elected to Congress in 2000.

Mr. Pence, who likes to say he is “a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order,” chaired the House Republican Study Committee, the largest caucus in the House, which pushed conservative social and economic issues in Congress. He has taken strong stands on First Amendment issues, including advocating a federal shield law to protect journalists from having to reveal sources.

At the Values Voter Summit on Friday, Mr. Pence called for more fiscal discipline, repeal of the Democrats’ health-care overhaul and a curb in the growth of government.

“These are serious times,” he said. “A nation conceived in liberty has come of age in bondage to big government. We’ve lost respect to the world. We are going broke. And our social and cultural fabric is unraveling.” Mr. Pence added that the GOP must produce a vision to return the government “to the common sense and common values of everyday Americans.”

Other potential 2012 candidates speaking at the weekend summit were Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, who has been to Iowa five times this year and had already hired a full-time staffer for Iowa; former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney; former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Ms. Palin gave a speech in Iowa on Friday night, adding to speculation about her intentions.

In Saturday’s poll, Mr. Romney placed third, behind Messrs. Pence and Huckabee, with 13% of the vote. Mr. Gingrich followed in fourth place.

On Sunday, Mr. Pence issued a statement saying that he and his wife, Karen, “are humbled by the results of yesterday’s straw poll, however my focus remains on winning a conservative majority in the U.S. House in November.”

Write to Jon Hilsenrath at jon.hilsenrath@wsj.com and Tennille Tracy at tennille.tracy@dowjones.com

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page 6

Copyright 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 1-800-843-0008 or visit

www.djreprints.com