Columbia, S.C. ? During a stop in South Carolina on Friday, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback said he wanted to end abortion, pleasing conservatives who dominate the Republican base in this early primary voting state.

“I will commit to helping end abortion in America,” Brownback said, responding to a question from a local minister who protests abortions almost daily at the South Carolina Statehouse.

Brownback told a gathering of about 240 people, who were treated to a $12-a-plate lunch, that he also supported a ban on gay marriage and tax credits that encourage traditional marriage.

“We’ve got to rebuild the family in America,” said Brownback, who favors overturning Roe v. Wade and sending the issue back to the states.

So far, Brownback and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee appear to have the widest appeal among Christian conservatives in this state, which in about a year holds the first Southern primary.

“That flank seems to be open,” said Francis Marion University political science professor Neil Thigpen.

Conservative Christians have been critical of Arizona Sen. John McCain for not advocating a national ban on gay marriage. Some also have questioned whether former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith adheres to fundamental Christian values, Thigpen said.

Earlier this week, Romney dismissed questions about whether his Mormon faith would be an impediment to his White House aspirations. Romney also was questioned about his shifting stance on abortion.

Romney said he was making inroads with Christian conservatives in South Carolina.

Although Baptists make up the heart of the Christian conservative base in South Carolina, they probably won’t have a problem with Brownback’s 2002 conversion to Roman Catholicism, Thigpen said.

Jim Corbett, a Columbia lawyer and Roman Catholic on Brownback’s steering committee, said the senator hasn’t severed ties to his Methodist upbringing.

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., shakes hands before speaking at a luncheon Friday in Columbia, S.C. Brownback said he wants to end abortion and he supports a ban on gay marriage.

“He goes to Mass on Sunday, then goes to his hometown family church,” Corbett said. “He’s going to play well with everyone who wants a candidate with strong Judeo-Christian values.”

Some Roman Catholics, like former U.S. Rep. Tommy Hartnett, a three-term Congressman from South Carolina during the 1980s, have found political success here.

Some Baptists see Roman Catholics’ “views merging with those of fundamentalist Christians” in areas such as abortion, Thigpen said.

John Gillespie, of Greenwood, liked what Brownback had to say but left uncommitted. “To hear someone speak the truth loudly and clearly is refreshing,” Gillespie said.

Brownback also was asked about illegal immigration and said he supports building a fence along the border with Mexico. He also wants employers to have the ability to instantly check immigrants’ Social Security numbers.

“We’ve got to up our level of legal immigration in this country and make it simpler,” Brownback said.

Speaking on Iraq, Brownback said he favored a political solution, not a surge in troops.

He wants a three-state Iraq with Kurds, Sunni and Shiites controlling different regions, operating under a federal government in Baghdad.

“We’ve got to keep together here,” he said of Republicans and Democrats fighting over the war. “We’ve got to get some political stability there and here.”