They're called "values voters," social conservatives, evangelicals, and Tom Gallagher is their favorite in the Republican primary for governor. Right?

Wrong, according to the non-partisan Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. Charlie Crist, the candidate Gallagher has been calling a "liberal," actually is favored by those voters by a margin of 53 percent to 38 percent.

"It probably means that Crist has done a better job of convincing voters that he's what they want," said Peter Brown, Quinnipiac's assistant director. "Obviously, Gallagher has tried to run as the more socially conservative candidate. On the other hand, he's been running statewide here for more than a decade, and he has a record. It may well be that that record made it difficult for him to appeal to those voters."   

Overall, Crist leads Gallagher in the poll, 57 percent to 32 percent, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5.5 points. From the statewide sample of 317 likely Republican voters, 45 percent described themselves as "born again" or "evangelical."

Quinnipiac asked this question: "Do you consider yourself a born again or evangelical Christian or not?" The margin error for that sub-sample is higher (plus or minus 8.7 points).