FACTBOX: Ten Republican U.S. presidential candidates

(Reuters) - Here are some facts about the 10 candidates for the 2008 Republican U.S. presidential nomination.

SAM BROWNBACK: A favorite of religious and social conservatives, he has pledged to keep God in the government. The two-term senator from Kansas, 50, has set out a partial list of goals that include energy independence, an improved health-care system, protecting marriage and opposing abortion. Brownback has opposed President George W. Bush's plan to send 21,500 more U.S. troops to Iraq, while focusing on domestic health care and tax reform issues.

JAMES GILMORE: The former Virginia governor, 57, served as an Army counterintelligence agent in Germany. He supports efforts to reduce taxes including making the Bush tax cuts permanent. He also supports increasing the number of U.S. troops in Iraq. Gilmore has said that as president he would oppose gay marriage and "so-called civil unions." As Virginia governor, he signed legislation that created a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking an abortion.

RUDOLPH GIULIANI: The former New York mayor, who leads the national polls, said in April the United States would be safer and fight terrorism more aggressively under a Republican president. Giuliani's comments were similar to arguments used by Bush and other Republicans during the 2004 and 2006 elections. Giuliani, 62, was mayor of New York during the September 11 attacks in 2001, and much of his political reputation has come from his leadership during the crisis. He has supported Bush's increase of U.S. troops in Iraq. Giuliani is the only Republican candidate that supports abortion rights.

MIKE HUCKABEE: The former Arkansas governor, 51, has said he supports Bush on the Iraq war. Huckabee, who served more than 10 years as governor, has said he favors a constitutional ban on gay marriage and abortion.

DUNCAN HUNTER: A U.S. representative from California, Hunter, 58, is an opponent of abortion. Duncan says he "would amend the Constitution and provide blanket protection to all unborn children from the moment of conception by prohibiting any state or federal law that denies the personhood of the unborn." He supports "a balanced federal budget, with additional revenue provided by economic growth, not increased taxes."

JOHN MCCAIN: The 70-year-old senator from Arizona attended the U.S. Naval Academy and was shot down in 1967 over Vietnam. He spent 5-1/2 years as a prisoner of war. First elected to the House of Representatives in 1982, he won the first of four terms in the Senate in 1986. In Congress, McCain has been a pro-business conservative, a free-market advocate and an abortion foe. McCain supports the Iraq war but has criticized how it has been conducted.

RON PAUL: Paul, 71, a U.S. representative from Texas, was the Libertarian Party presidential nominee in 1988. Paul says that rights belong to individuals, not groups and that government exists to protect liberty, not to redistribute wealth or to grant special privileges. He has said: "The war in Iraq was sold to us with false information. The area is more dangerous now than when we entered it. We destroyed a regime hated by our direct enemies, the jihadists, and created thousands of new recruits for them."

MITT ROMNEY: The Harvard-educated former Massachusetts governor, 60, has cast himself as a more conservative alternative to McCain and Giuliani. His view is complicated by his inconsistency on social issues such as gay rights and abortion rights that he once supported but now opposes. Romney is the fifth Mormon to seek the White House.

THOMAS TANCREDO: He has represented Colorado's 6th congressional district since 1998. Tancredo, 61, says his campaign focus is fighting illegal immigration. He has opposed proposals for guest-worker programs and favors stronger border security. When he announced his candidacy, Tancredo said: "This battle over immigration is really (going) to define the nation."

TOMMY THOMPSON: The former Wisconsin governor and U.S. secretary of health and human services, 65, said he would urge Iraq to hold a vote on whether U.S. troops should stay. Thompson has said his presidency would be "tremendously" different from the Bush administration; however, he has agreed with Bush's veto of legislation setting a timetable for withdrawal of troops from Iraq. He said health care would be a major campaign theme and would ensure that every American has health insurance.

(Sources: Reuters/Congress Web site, campaign Web sites)