SNEAK PEEK: Giuliani Woos Conservatives

October 19, 2007— -- Saturday morning will be Rudy Giuliani's turn to step up to the plate and take a swing at wooing conservative voters at the Family Research Council Washington Briefing: Values Voter Summit.

It's no easy task, but not the first time in the last month that Giuliani has addressed a crowd he doesn't see eye-to-eye with. A phone call from his wife Judith helped him out at the NRA conference, but can he try that again on Saturday morning?

The crowd of over 2000 in Washington has heard from the entire Republican presidential field and the key question for Saturday will be who has emerged as a clear favorite, if anyone.

Over 4000 people, all members of FRC Action, are expected to vote in Saturday's straw poll and they will be asked to answer three questions:

1. Which of the following candidates for president would you be most likely to vote for? (candidates are listed alphabetically)

2. Who of the following candidates would be least acceptable to you as President of the United States? (choose one candidate only)

3. Please indicate which issue is the most important in determining your opinion of the candidate that you will most likely vote for – choose one:

-Abortion, including partial birth abortion and taxpayer funded abortion

-Same-sex marriage

-Embryonic stem cell experimenting

-Tax cuts

-Prayer in schools

-Public display of the Ten Commandments

-Federal hate crime legislation

-Reinstatement of the fairness doctrine

-Taxpayer funding for abortion

-Permanent tax relief (marriage penalty and child tax credit)

-Voluntary student-led prayer in schools

-Enforced obscenity laws

Participants are given a specific ID number and can only vote once, in person or via the Internet or mail. Results are announced at 3pm ET Saturday and summit organzier Tony Perkins holds a media availability immediately after.

The straw poll is, of course, non-binding and largely meaningless and the results should not be read as representative of the social conservative movement writ large. However, the Value Voters straw poll can serve as a testament to a campaign's ability to organize and motivate participants at this particular gathering.

Morning Session: 8:45 am ET to 12:00 pm ET

- Rudy Giuliani- Mike Huckabee

A top adviser to now-dropped out Sam Brownback heaped praise on Rudy Giuliani on Friday and told ABC News' Teddy Davis that an endorsement of the former New York mayor is a distinct possibility before the first votes are cast in the Republican presidential contest.

"He is making the same calculation that Republican primary voters are," said the adviser who spoke about Brownback's endorsement plans on the condition of anonymity. "Every indication is that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee and we will really have to sit down and ask ourselves: if that's the binary -- Clinton or non-Clinton -- ask yourself who is the most likely non-Clinton."

But later Friday, Brownback indicated through spokesman Brian Hart that an endorsement of Giuliani is not going to happen either now or in the future.

"I just spoke to Sen. Brownback," said Brownback spokesman Brian Hart. "He is not endorsing anyone today and he has no plans to endorse Mayor Giuliani at any time."

This reversal is probably music to Family Research Council President and summit organizer Tony Perkins's ears. He has a decidedly different view than the Brownback adviser and told reporters last week that in the eyes of social conservatives, there is no distinction between Clinton and Giuliani. "They are not identical, but when you consider those who have come into the race on an ideological path, they are not there to advance a party; they are sold out to advancing causes," Perkins said. "So, you get to the point where you have 2 candidates that are hard to separate between the issues."

More from ABC News' Davis:A Giuliani endorsement from Brownback, who ran for president on a "pro-life, whole life" platform and is ending his bid for the GOP's presidential nomination on Friday in Topeka, Kas., could signal to the political world that Giuliani has made significant progress in downplaying his support for abortion rights by emphasizing his commitment to appoint "strict constructionist" justices to the Supreme Court in the mold of current Justices Antonin Scalia, John Roberts, and Sam Alito.

"As long as we're in the Roe world, judges are the whole ballgame," said the Brownback adviser.

ABC News Polling Director Gary Langer reports that given his position on abortion and gay civil unions, Giuliani's support for the Republican nomination is considerably weaker among evangelicals as compared with other Republicans. Among non-evangelical Republicans (including Republican-leaning independents), Giuliani has nearly triple the support of his closest competitor, Fred Thompson (38-14). Among evangelicals, they're tied (23-22).