( CNN ) -- Cruz first . Carson second . Sound familiar ? If it does , it 's because for the second year in a row , the duo clinched the top two spots for the presidential choice vote in the buzzy Values Voter Summit straw poll . Last year , Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas beat Dr. Ben Carson , a renowned neurosurgeon and Fox News contributor , by a whopping 29 % . On Saturday , Cruz beat Carson just by 5 % . Former Gov . Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania rounded out the top four , while Louisiana Gov . Bobby Jindal and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul tied for fifth place with 7 % of the vote . To further the case that not much has changed , this year 's results for the vice presidential choice also mimicked last year 's , with Carson coming in first and Cruz coming in second . In a small twist , Jindal beat out Rep. Michelle Bachman for the third place title . She and Santorum took the fourth and fifth place spots in the race this year . Poll participants at the Values Voter Summit were also asked to rank their top three most important issues . To little surprise amongst the conservative crowd , protecting religious liberty was deemed the most important issue by an overwhelming margin , while abortion and national security followed as the next most important issues . Announcing the results , Tony Perkins , president of the Family Research Council , a conservative public policy and lobbying organization that sponsors the Summit , noted that participation was up this year from last , likely due to the upcoming midterm election . `` It actually shows that there is more engagement of core conservatives in the process when they have a reason to be , '' Perkins said . `` The evidence here is quite clear , that when conservatives have someone who will speak clearly , concisely -- a conservative message that embraces all elements of conservatism -- they gain enthusiastic support . '' Voters were also allowed to write-in candidates that they thought were deserving of a vote if they were n't included in the list of 24 elected officials selected . Notable write-ins included Christian evangelist and missionary Franklin Graham for President . The Values Voter Summit is holding its 9th annual political conference in Washington through Sunday . The meeting draws thousands of conservative politicians and activists nationwide to hear speeches from featured guests and vote in the annual straw poll .
At the annual Values Voter Summit , Ted Cruz won the straw poll . The results were similar to a year ago . Cruz got the most votes , followed by Dr. Ben Carson .