Stuck in Washington as Congress faces votes on continued funding of American military action in Libya, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, making his third bid for the White House, spoke via Skype to pro-life activists convening in Jacksonville.

I talk a lot about right-to-life, said Paul, who called it the most important issue of our age.

Paul, who was the Libertarian presidential nominee in 1988 and ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, called abortion a very bad sign for civilization.

Two of the candidates running for the Republican presidential nomination to take on Barack Obama in 2012 announced late last week that they will participate in the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) Presidency 5 straw poll in Orlando in September.

While former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, the front-runner for the Republican nomination and the leader in polls at both the national level and those focused on Florida, has already announced that his campaign will not take part in the straw poll, other candidates are starting to see it as an opportunity.

A poll released from Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm with connections to prominent national Democrats, found that former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts is leading the pack of Republican hopefuls seeking their partys presidential nomination in Florida.

A PPP poll back in March found Romney tied in Florida with a rival from the 2008 Republican primaries, former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia, with 18 percent each. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was right behind them with 15 percent.

With his campaign reeling from mass defections among his senior staff and fundraising team, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Wednesday stressed his commitment to defend the role of religion in the public square from judicial activism.

While once ranked as one of the top tier of candidates for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, the Georgia Republican has stumbled badly in recent months with a lackluster start to his campaign, lethargic fundraising and revelations regarding lines of credit at Tiffanys.

Former state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner continues to garner support from nationally prominent figures affiliated with the conservative movement in his bid to win the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson in the 2012 U.S. Senate race. The latest conservative to bestow his blessing on Hasner is radio host and longtime media figure Hugh Hewitt.