Paul M. Weyrich, considered by many to be the father of the modern religious conservative movement, yesterday became the latest in a string of prominent conservative leaders to endorse Mitt Romney for president.
Weyrich's support could help Romney make further inroads with evangelical Christian leaders who consider his Mormon faith heretical, and could also aid Romney in blunting the surging candidacy of Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and Baptist preacher who is an ally of the causes that are dear to Weyrich.
Weyrich, a prolific writer and frequent commentator, is the founding president of the Heritage Foundation, the influential conservative Washington think tank, and a cofounder of the Moral Majority, the religious group that grew into a powerhouse under the late Rev. Jerry Falwell.
"This is a significant boon for the Romney campaign," said Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, who has not endorsed a candidate yet. "Weyrich's endorsement will speak loudly to conservatives in general - guys who care about guns and taxes and everything else, but especially religious conservatives."
Last month, Romney picked up the endorsements of Bob Jones III, the son of the founder of the Christian college in South Carolina that bears the family name; Mark DeMoss, a prominent evangelical activist from Atlanta; and John Willke, founder of the National Right to Life Committee. Norquist said Weyrich could encourage other Christian conservatives to back Romney, despite their reservations about Romney's religion and his past support for gay rights and abortion rights.
"This could be the beginning of all the guys who would have been with [Fred] Thompson and Huckabee shifting over," Norquist said in a telephone interview. "There was always the sense they should be for Romney but they're hanging back. . . . For Weyrich to say, 'I've looked at him and he's the best guy,' it's pretty powerful. The other religious-right leaders know him and trust him."
Huckabee, who speaks fervently of his longtime opposition to abortion rights has been rising in the polls in Iowa, which casts the first ballots for a Republican nominee on Jan. 3. He hit double digits nationally in a new CNN poll released yesterday, just 1 percentage point behind Romney for fourth place. Thompson, the former Tennessee senator, has also been aggressively courting social and religious conservatives.
Many Christian conservative leaders have been divided over the Republican field, with some threatening to back a third-party candidate if Rudy Giuliani, a supporter of abortion rights, wins the nomination. "Governor Romney has outlined a blueprint to build a stronger America rooted in our common conservative principles," Weyrich said in a statement issued by the Romney campaign. "With a clear conservative vision to move America forward, he will strengthen our economy, our military, and our families."
Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com.
