DALLAS - Broad support from U.S. religious conservatives remains an elusive prize for the top Republican candidates in the White House race and there is even talk of a third party candidate to fly the right's flag.
The so-called "Religious Right," mostly white evangelical Protestants who comprise a key Republican base, have been largely uninspired by the party's top-tier contenders who are locked in a tough race to represent the party in the 2008 presidential election.
They are especially disgruntled with former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, the current leader, who supports abortion and gay rights -- positions which are anathema to the movement.
Their alarm at the prospect of a Giuliani candidacy was underlined last weekend when a meeting of heavyweight social conservatives in Salt Lake City mooted the idea of backing a third party candidate if he gets the Republican crown.
"It was more a statement of principle than a declaration of intent. If the Republican Party puts up a pro-abortion candidate that will be a line we will not cross," said attendee Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, a conservative lobby group.
James Dobson, founder of the conservative advocacy group Focus on the Family and one of the most influential voices in the movement, also attended the meeting.
A third party candidate under the banner of religious social conservatism would cut into the Republican vote and could ensure victory for the Democrats, analysts said.
If Giuliani were chosen as the Republican candidate, many religious conservatives may just not vote at all, they said.
"There is no plausible scenario where a Republican will be elected president without strong support from religious conservatives," said Matthew Wilson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
