Former Pennsylvania Senator and Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum speaks to a group of veterans during a meeting sponsored by Patriot Outreach at the Fort Des Moines Museum and Education Center, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Former Pennsylvania Senator and Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum speaks to a group of veterans during a meeting sponsored by Patriot Outreach at the Fort Des Moines Museum and Education Center, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks to a gathering of law enforcement officials, Friday, Nov. 18, 2011 in New York. Perry was given the State Service Award at the 21st annual Federal Law Enforcement Foundation Luncheon. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)
Former House Speaker, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich gestures during a visit to the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Republican presidential candidate Texas Rep. Ron Paul speaks during a campaign event Friday, Nov. 18, 2011 at the Lawrence Community Center in Anamosa, Iowa. (AP Photo/The Gazette, Brian Ray) MAGS OUT
In this photo provided by CBS, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain joins host David Letterman on the set of the ?Late Show with David Letterman,? Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011 in New York. The show airs Friday, Nov. 18. (AP Photo/CBS, John Paul Filo)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? Most of the Republican presidential candidates, with the notable exception of Mitt Romney, set their sights on early-voting Iowa for a discussion on the role of religious faith in public life, along with hot-button social issues such as marriage and abortion.
The setting was a forum Saturday night hosted by a new evangelical group trying to leave its mark on the campaign in a state where influential social conservatives have struggled to rally behind an alternative to Romney. While the former Massachusetts governor has stayed near the top of national polls, some Republican activists have misgivings about his record on cultural issues.
Romney's six more socially conservative challenges are actively competing in Iowa to emerge as the preferred candidate among Christian conservatives with just six weeks to go until the Jan. 3 caucuses.
"People are getting close to decision time," former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum told The Associated Press at a campaign stop in Des Moines. "I think you're going to see some coalescing in the next couple of weeks."
Jobs, the economy and the deficit are voter priorities in Iowa and nationally, but it was a focus on social issues that drew the 2012 hopefuls to the event sponsored by The Family Leader, an organization started last by a former Republican candidate for governor, Bob Vander Plaats.
Scheduled to join Santorum were Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, businessman Herman Cain, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Texas Rep. Ron Paul and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
Romney declined the invitation and was campaigning in New Hampshire. He is not competing aggressively for the social conservative vote in Iowa as he did in the 2008 presidential race. His leaner Iowa campaign is focused more on holding supporters from his second-place finish four years ago and appealing to economic conservatives.
But Romney also has avoided multicandidate events in early-voting states, even one this month in Iowa by the National Association of Manufacturers and co-hosted by Gov. Terry Branstad, a pro-business Republican.
Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman also planned to skip the event. He, too, has a mixed record on social issues, has avoided campaigning in Iowa and is focusing his early-state campaign on New Hampshire, home of the leadoff primary.
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Online:
The Family Leader: http://www.thefamilyleader.com
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