Washington ( CNN ) -- We all know about the power of born-again and evangelical voters in the Iowa Republican presidential caucuses . Four years ago , three out of every five Iowans who attended a GOP precinct caucus described themselves that way , and they handed Baptist minister and former Arkansas Gov . Mike Huckabee an upset victory over former Massachusetts Gov . Mitt Romney . Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann , Texas Gov . Rick Perry and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum would like to repeat that trick again on Tuesday . Whether 60 % of the 2012 Iowa GOP caucus vote will be made up of self-described born-again or evangelical voters again , and whether any one of those candidates will be able to scoop up almost half of them as as Huckabee did , remains to be seen . But even if Bachmann , Perry or Santorum can repeat Huckabee 's feat , then what ? New Hampshire 's Yankee Republicans have been notoriously skeptical of what they perceive as holy rollers roaring out of Iowa . Huckabee could only manage a distant third-place finish with 11 % of the vote in the 2008 Granite State primary . And when the 1988 Iowa caucuses elevated televangelist Pat Robertson with a second-place finish that year , he could only manage a fifth-place showing and 9 % of the vote in the New Hampshire GOP primary . Both Huckabee and Robertson quickly headed to South Carolina to try to resuscitate their campaigns in its primary , but there were no revivals : Huckabee finished second there , and Robertson third . CNN surveyed 64 Iowa GOP insiders , including state legislators , local elected and party officials , veterans of previous caucus campaigns , and other party operatives , and asked them if a relatively strong showing by any of this year 's more conservative trio could lead to a legitimate run for the GOP nomination by rallying the faith vote . And in the state that knows that vote well , there were doubters . If Bachmann , Perry or Santorum is able to finish in the top three in the caucuses , do you think that candidate will be able to consolidate the born-again/evangelical vote and become a significant factor in the GOP nominating contest ? â€¢ Yes : 46 % . â€¢ No : 54 % . The Iowa GOP insiders ' skepticism was informed in part at least by what happened four years ago . `` Huckabee could n't do it and he was a much better candidate , '' observed one Iowa GOP insider . Maybe Santorum or Bachmann or Perry could consolidate the religious vote for a while , allowed another GOP insider : `` Be a significant factor in the GOP nominating contest ? No , the Huckabee campaign confirmed this in 2008 . '' RELATED : Two out of three think Romney will win . RELATED : Some Iowa Republicans want more options . And even several of those yeses were qualified . `` Bachmann and Perry are finished , they just do n't know it yet , '' said one Iowa GOP insider dismissively . `` Santorum could ride the wave for a while , but I doubt to the nomination . '' Another echoed , `` Santorum could become the anti-Mitt , but ( the ) lack of a national organization and fundraising will be an impediment . He 'd need to suddenly catch fire in South Carolina and he 'll have a tough time with resources in Florida . '' The CNN Iowa GOP insiders were surveyed from the evening of December 27 through the morning of December 30 . Most of the survey was conducted over the Internet ; some interviews were conducted by phone . The Iowa insiders were given anonymity for their individual answers in order to encourage candid responses . And while some insiders were aligned with one or another of the presidential campaigns , more than two-thirds said they had not endorsed and were not working for any candidate in the race . Here are the names of the participants in the survey : Chad Airhart , Tim Albrecht , Bill Anderson , Lon Anderson , Becky Beach , Carmine Boal , Jeff Boeyink , Michael Bousselot , Danny Carroll , James Centers , Tim Coonan , Peter Cownie , Mikel Derby , Paula Dierenfeld , Brian Dumas , Ed Failor Jr. , Susan Fenton , Brenna Findley , Christian Fong , Dave Funk , Tracie Gilbert , John Gilliland , Gary Grant , Pat Grassley , Adam Gregg , Sandy Greiner , Steve Grubbs , Chris Hagenow , Robert Haus , Erik Helland , Matt Hinch , Mark Hudson , Caleb Hunter , Stew Iverson , David Jamison , Eric Johansen , Jake Ketzner , Gary Kirke , Jeff Lamberti , Jill Latham , Don McDowell , Christopher McGowan , Bill Northey , Chad Olsen , Noreen Otto , Christopher Rants , Steve Roberts , Craig Robinson , Dave Roederer , Brett Rogers , Richard Rogers , Stacey Rogers , Nick Ryan , Renne Schulte , Rich Schwarm , Mike St. Clair , Suzan Stewart , Ted Stopulos , Cameron Sutton , Ed Wallace , Andy Warren , Nicole Woodroffe , Eric Woolson , Grant Young .
Iowa evangelicals have influence in the GOP presidential selection process . Bachmann , Romney and Santorum are favorites among social conservatives . But their ability to consolidate power is limited .