Mike Huckabee is likely to get a lot of support from conservative Iowa Christians in the January Republican caucus, if they follow through with the leanings they voiced at the Iowa Christian Alliance annual dinner held in a Des Moines suburb Saturday night. Far from scientific, the informal survey by Iowa Independent also found pockets of support for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback.

It was supposed to be former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson’s night in the spotlight at the Iowa Christian Alliance dinner in Clive on Saturday night.

During a weekend when most Republican candidates are crisscrossing the country, scurrying for campaign contributions before third quarter financial reports are due with the Federal Election Commission, Thompson had the crowd of conservatives to himself. Most of the Republicans were invited to attend, but Thompson was the only candidate to accept the invitation. He devoted most of his time shaking hands and introducing people to his wife, Jerri, and their 4-year-old daughter, Hayden.

If photographs and autographs translate into votes, then Thompson earned several new supporters on Saturday night. But these red meat Republicans who list social issues as the deciding factor in choosing a candidate got little information from Thompson, a former U.S. senator from Tennessee who is best-known for his role as a district attorney on the crime drama, “Law and Order” A small majority of people interviewed at the dinner by the Iowa Independent said they’ll likely support Mike Huckabee in the January Republican caucus.

Most striking – although not surprising – was the number of people at the dinner who said they will find it difficult to cast a vote for Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who leads most national polls.

“I refuse to just throw my support behind Giuliani or one of the other, quote-unquote, `Big Dogs,’” said Dave Barnett, a self-described evangelical Christian from Des Moines. “My take on all this is that if one of the moderate Republicans get the nomination a lot of conservatives who got Bush elected are going to stay home next November.”

If the caucuses were held today, Barnett said, he would most likely support Huckabee, a Baptist minister who went on to become governor of Arkansas. Barnett said he likes Huckabee’s established record on social issues, including his opposition to gay marriage and abortion rights.

Although Huckabee still trails in most polls, he’s the only Republican candidate who has seen his share of likely Republican voters increase in past weeks. His surprise second place finish in the Iowa Straw Poll plus improved fundraising has also improved his standing.

Barnett says he thinks Huckabee’s campaign is in a position similar to that which former president Bill Clinton found himself in when he finished third in the Iowa caucus in 1992. Clinton, a darkhorse at the time, exceeded expectations in Iowa and New Hampshire and then rolled to victory in several southern primaries.

If that doesn’t happen with Huckabee, Barnett says, he may find it difficult to vote in November.

But Hubert Hegeman, a Carroll farmer and Mitt Romney supporter, says he’s willing to hold his nose and vote for whichever candidate gets the nomination. “It’s better than the alternative, although I’d be kind of disappointed,” he said.

Thompson arrived at the event a little behind schedule, worked the room for 20 minutes with a dozen or so reporters and photographers in tow. He and his wife and daughter formed a sort of receiving line at the head of a buffet table and shook hands with attendees who were waiting to help themselves to broasted chicken, green beans, cole slaw and potato casserole.

Although all the presidential candidates were invited to attend, the ICA had told them in advance that they wouldn’t have an opportunity to speak. The Thompson campaign told reporters during the event that their candidate would avail himself to reporters prior to his departure so as not to disrupt the meeting. But after he finished eating – and before the program got underway – Thompson and his family and staff slipped into an SUV and departed, leaving the media gaggle behind without a chance to answer a single question.

Thompson’s appearance at the event was seen as important because he needs to win over some of the conservative base in Iowa in order to do well in the January caucus. Earlier this month, James Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family and perhaps the most influential Christian conservative in America today, said in an e-mail that he had doubts about Thompson’s values and wouldn’t support his presidential bid.