“I’ll continue to extend my hand to you,” he concluded, “and I hope you’ll take it.”

After his speech, even some of his critics said his performance may have moved some Christian conservatives to soften their opposition to him, at least in the general election, and maybe even drawn some to support his bid for the Republican nomination. But the true impact of the moment will likely be known only after the activists gathered here return home to consider their choices.

“I give him an A-plus on his speech,” said Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values, an Ohio group. But, Mr. Burress added, “These are deep voters. They’re going to dig deeper than just appearance.”

As for Mr. Huckabee, he faced high odds in his own right. With less than three months left until the first votes are cast, he has been struggling to prove his electability. Many conservative leaders, agonizing over whether it is realistic to unite around him, fret about his ability to compete in all 50 states against Mr. Giuliani. His campaign received a boost this summer, when he placed second in the Iowa straw poll, behind Mr. Romney, but his fund-raising has continued to lag and he remains in the single digits in national polls.

The results of the straw poll in many ways only added to the confusion within the movement. Anyone who is a member of Family Research Council Action, one of the groups organizing the summit, could vote. Joining the group only requires a $1 donation. Mr. Romney’s campaign, as well as others, has been actively encouraging people to vote online. And about 3,500 new people have joined the organization, on top of the existing 5,000 members, in the last few months. Out of the 2,500 attendees of the summit, only 952 out of 5,775 overall actually cast votes in person. But almost 600 of those who attended had already voted online.

Of the votes cast in person, Mr. Huckabee was the runaway winner with over 50 percent of the vote, trailed badly by Mr. Romney with 10 percent.

In the overall voting, Mr. Paul, a congressman from Texas, finished a surprising third, which event organizers attributed in large part to his online following. Mr. Thompson, a former senator from Tennessee, finished fourth.

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, whose legislative arm was one of the summit’s organizers, said Mr. Huckabee deserves to claim a boost from the event. “I think he comes out of here clearly as a favorite and a winner out of the straw poll,” Mr. Perkins said.