Governer Mike Huckabee has maintained a solid lead among Republican candidates in a new Des Moines Register poll yesterday.  This is the last major Iowa poll to be released before the caucus voting on January 3rd.

The size of Huckabee's lead is virtually unchanged from the last Iowa Poll taken in late November, despite Romney's hard-charging effort to regain the top spot that he held earlier in the year . . .

Huckabee, whose Iowa support has soared in the last two months, continues to benefit from the backing of religious conservatives who have an affinity for him and the values he espouses:

- Nearly one-half of likely Republican caucusgoers describe themselves as born-again or fundamentalist Christians. Within that large group, Huckabee outpolls Romney, 47 percent to 20 percent. Romney has faced questions about his religious standing as a Mormon.

- Among those who think it's more important for the next president to be a social conservative than a fiscal conservative, Huckabee leads Romney 48 percent to 24 percent. Romney holds a much narrower lead over Huckabee -- 29 percent to 25 percent -- among those who say it's more important to be fiscally conservative.

- Among those caucusgoers who think it is very important for them to agree with a candidate's religious beliefs, 54 percent favor Huckabee. - Huckabee scores highest in the poll as the candidate who matches caucusgoers' own core principles.

The poll shows religious beliefs matter a great deal to likely Republican caucus participants in general. Those who think it helps the Republican Party to place greater emphasis on Christian beliefs outnumber those who think it is hurtful to the party, 47 percent to 29 percent.