Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

Wildly enthusiastic Ron Paul supporters, including busloads of college students, have been a visible presence at the Values Voters Summit in Washington, so no one was surprised when Mr. Paul won the conference’s annual straw poll of presidential preferences on Saturday.

All of the major Republican contenders spoke on Friday or Saturday at the conference, a pep rally for religious conservatives sponsored by the Family Research Council, the American Family Association and other conservative Christian groups and attended by 3,400 people. Of the 1,983 who voted, 37 percent chose Mr. Paul.

But what turned heads here was the low support registered for the two presumed front-runners for the Republican nomination, Mitt Romney and Gov. Rick Perry. Mr. Romney, who has struggled to win the allegiance of religious conservatives because his stances on abortion and same-sex marriage, received 4 percent of the votes. Mr. Perry, whose conservative credentials are considered nearly impeccable, tied with Michele Bachmann at 8 percent, well behind Herman Cain (23 percent) and Rick Santorum (16 percent).

“The field is still somewhat fluid,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, as he discussed the results. The lesson for Mr. Romney and Mr. Perry, he said, is that “the hearts and minds and passions of the values voters are still to be won.”

In a speech to the conference on Saturday morning, Mr. Romney stressed his firm opposition to abortion and his hope that Roe v. Wade can be overturned. He also spoke of his support for traditional marriage, and his remarks seemed well received by the audience.

“I thought he made a good speech here today,” Mr. Perkins said of Mr. Romney. “He talked more about the values issues here than he has on the campaign trail. I just think he’s going to have to connect more with the values community.”

Although the straw poll, like others, carries no scientific weight, the results are scrutinized for clues to the thinking of conservative Christians, an important segment of Republican voters.

Only those who registered and paid to attend the conference were allowed to vote. The fee was $99 for the entire three-day meeting, or $75 for a single day, and $50 for students. Saturday morning, Mr. Perkins said, more than 600 people arrived and signed up just for the day, including large numbers of students in support of Mr. Paul.

As a result, Mr. Paul won the most votes even though some of his views on defense and social policy differ sharply from those of most religious conservatives; he calls for a quick withdrawal from Afghanistan and says he does not fear a nuclear Iran, and he opposes a federal amendment to bar same-sex marriage.