The conventional wisdom was that the social conservative voters were splitting their vote.

Yet it cannot abandon the older, more socially conservative voters who have helped it to win many elections.

He accused the nativists of driving away conservative voters with their collectivist and rabble-rousing rhetoric.

Conservative voters are, as one farmer who e-mailed me today put it, resolutely hoping for the best.

Describing that 'us' in terms that conservative voters can accept remains an intriguing challenge.