Orlando, Fla. – Herman Cain stole the show at the Faith and Freedom Coalition pre-debate event, as all the candidates worked to win over Florida Republicans.

Even before Cain came out, the mention of his name drew a huge roar from the crowd. He won a standing ovation at one point, and his booming voice and straightforward style of talking energized the audience. He may be low in the polls, but at least among these Florida activists, there’s a deep reservoir of affection and appreciation for his message.

Many of the candidates seemed to tweak their stump speeches a bit to focus on faith and social conservatism. Ron Paul compared the current era to that of Isaiah in 740 B.C., called for a return to a monetary system compatible with the biblical principles, and spoke about the evils of abortion. Rick Perry asked the audience to not just vote for him and support him, but also to pray for him. He also railed against President Obama’s plan to reduce the tax deductions given for charitable donations. Rick Santorum asked the audience to not look at who had signed pledges, but who had taken “arrows” and “bullets” for standing up for what they believed in. Newt Gingrich spoke of the pro-life initiatives he would take his first hour in office via executive order, while Michele Bachmann said the “the first unit of government is the family.”

But other themes got mentioned, too. “Americans want freedom, not free stuff,” said Mitt Romney, talking about campaigning in a different kind of way than Democrats do. Santorum criticized Obama for refusing to recognize that power should come from the bottom-up, not the top-down – and compared Obama’s ideal of government to King George III’s. In a jab at Romney, Perry said he hadn’t been born with “four aces” in his hand. He also denounced Race to the Top and federal government interference in schools — a subject on which his campaign accused Romney of flip-flopping on in an e-mail earlier today. Gingrich promoted his new Contract with America, set to be unveiled next week.

In between the presidential candidates, some Sunshine State elected officials spoke – and proved that Marco Rubio isn’t the only conservative high-level politician from Florida. The state’s lieutenant governor Jennifer Carroll gave a rousing speech about the importance of Christianity. Florida attorney general Pam Bondi was another who gave a well-received speech.