Pat Robertson, one of the most influential figures in the social conservative movement, will announce his support for Rudy Giuliani's presidential bid this morning in Washington, D.C., according to sources familiar with the decision.
Pat Robertson's endorsement of Rudy Giuliani is a significant blow to Mitt Romney, who has worked hard to court evangelical leaders. Robertson's support was coveted by several of the leading Republican candidates and provides Giuliani with a major boost as the former New York City mayor seeks to convince social conservatives that, despite his positions on abortion and gay rights, he is an acceptable choice as the GOP nominee.
It also slows any momentum for Mitt Romney within the social conservative movement. Romney had recently secured the backing of conservative stalwarts Paul Weyrich and Bob Jones III -- endorsements that seemed to strengthen his bid to become the electable conservative alternative to Giuliani. Romney had made no secret of his desire for Robertson's endorsement and has to be disappointed this morning.
The other major effect of Robertson's support for Giuliani is that it will quiet talk in social conservative circles that nominating Giuliani would lead "values voters" to abandon the Republican Party. The stamp of approval from Robertson should assuage the doubts of many (although certainly not all) of the rank-and-file social conservatives.
I'm not sure a Robertson endorsement is all that comforting to evangelicals, and probably shouldn't be that comforting to Rudy given Robertson's habit of sticking his foot in his mouth and making controversial if not stupid statements (see here, here, here, here, and here). He would not be the first guy I would hope to get an endorsement from.
One other endorsement that might be meaningful to evangelicals - Sam Brownback (a favorite of many evangelicals) will endorse John McCain.
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