Values Voter Summit
| Values Voter Summit | |
|---|---|
Limit Government • Reduce Spending • Champion Traditional Values • Protect America
|
|
| Frequency | Annual |
| Location(s) | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Inaugurated | September 2006 |
| Participants | 2,000 |
| Website | |
| valuesvotersummit.org | |
The Values Voter Summit is an annual political conference held in Washington, D.C. for American social conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States.
The Values Voter Summit is hosted by the Family Research Council with numerous conservative organizations sponsoring or otherwise participating in the conference. In the most recent summit, 38 organizations and an audience of 2,000 people participated. The summit is usually held in September or October of each year.
The first summit was held in 2006. Among the key issues for values voters defined by the organizers are opposition to abortion and to same-sex marriage, and a strong national defense. The Los Angeles Times describes the conference as combination rally, revival meeting, political convention and bazaar." The conference typically includes appearances from Republican potential presidential candidates vying for the support of the crucial social conservative base of the party.
Featured guests at the summit have included right-wing commentators Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, in addition to numerous elected officials and other conservative figures. Co-sponsors of the event included other Christian political action groups, such as AFA Action (part of the American Family Association), the Heritage Foundation, Liberty University, Liberty Counsel and Gary Bauer's organization American Values.
Starting with the second annual conference in 2007, the summit began holding its own presidential straw poll, similarly to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and other conferences. The winner of the first presidential straw poll, of about 5,776 votes, was former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who would later go on to be the runner-up of the 2008 primaries before winning the nomination in 2012.
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