No. It’s not because Romney’s Mormon and Huckabee’s Baptist. I contend Huckabee’s evangelical support goes deeper than that. The roots of his support are grounded in concepts the political punditry and main-stream media can’t seem to comprehend.

Evangelicals are a multi-faceted bunch. We are controlled by a Scriptural, and highly moral ethic. And politics is just a side-focus to us. We’re mainly about the Gospel and Jesus, and so political ties are held somewhat tenuously. It’s not enough to just slap “pro-life” on your chest, evangelicals do care about the whole package that comes with that.

I recently stumbled across a post by Josh Reighley which sums up this point very well:

Huckabee’s primary support has come from Evangelical Christians. In the past, we have voted for candidates based on one or two issues. Knowing this, the Republican party has outright pandered to us on these two issues, and earned a lot of support. We care about a lot more issues, and the Republican party largely ignores them.

There is a biblical mandate to protect life. The GOP attempts to do this, but they tend to do it in a cold and heartless way, causing the country to look at the proponents of life as theocratic tyrants.

There is also a biblical mandate to protect the poor. There is a biblical mandate to be good stewards of the environment. There is a biblical mandate to fight greed and corruption. These are part of the true evangelical heart.

He goes on to claim that Romney is a “plastic candidate” blatantly pandering to Evangelicals based on his pro-life and pro-family stance. I totally agree. Josh goes on to explain just why Huckabee appeals so much to us Evangelicals.

We don’t have to choose from the lesser of two evils. We have a very articulate, warm hearted evangelical who cares about the same things that we care about and doesn’t have to pander to anybody. He cares about the environment. He cares about the poor. He is not beholden to corporate interests or to political interests. He knows the struggles of the everyday American family, and he wants to make their life better.

This is why I and others I know support Huckabee. And this train of thought is why several prominent Christian bloggers do as well: Justin Taylor, Matthew Anderson, Joe Carter — (see joint endorsement here) and Randy Alcorn.

Alcorn in particular illustrates the Biblical mindset that favors a candidate like Huckabee:

Today, I am less enthusiastic about political parties than I’ve ever been. I’m a Republican largely because I adamantly oppose abortion. But my concern for the poor, racial justice and the environment””all of which have a strong biblical basis””make me sometimes identify more with the concerns of Democrats (though I don’t always agree on their proposed solutions). But I could never be a Democrat as long as that party remains hostile toward the rights of unborn children. Yes, there are prolife Democrats, but they are a small minority. And by the way, if I had a choice between voting for a prolife Democrat and a prochoice Republican, I’d vote for the Democrat in a heartbeat….

In my opinion, Huckabee doesn’t just know the words; he knows the music. You can see the authenticity in him. I heard him say, “I do not spell G-O-D G.O.P.” That means he’s a follower of Christ before he’s a follower of the Republican party. He’s not overbearing in his spiritual beliefs, but he never apologizes for them. He’s humble and self-effacing. He’s not in your face, yet he’s firm in conviction. I actually think this guy says what he believes and believes what he says. And I have to say, I don’t think that about most politicians. He says some things that are unpopular and will lose him votes and he says them anyway””I love the courage that reflects….

And evangelicals shouldn’t be afraid to support Huckabee. The political pundits are wrong: Huckabee is McCain’s toughest competition–and Romney is just siphoning votes away from him. (You’ve got to read Joe Carter’s excellent post on pundit-based reality vs. voter-based reality.)

Personally, I’d much rather cast a vote for McCain than for Romney– because McCain at least has integrity and is honorable. So chalk me up for one who wouldn’t mind a McCain-Huckabee ticket. I just wish Huckabee was on the top of that ticket!

Bonus: for an explanation of why I think Romney is untrustworthy, check this older post, or Joe Carter’s recent one here.