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Posted on 06/08/2014 4:33:07 PM PDT by SoConPubbie
FORT WORTH — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz easily won the presidential preference straw poll held at the Texas GOP’s state convention Saturday, crushing outgoing Gov. Rick Perry and several other early contenders for the 2016 nomination.
Cruz took 43.4 percent of the vote, according to results announced at the close of the convention. Ben Carson, a columnist and neurosurgeon from Michigan, came in second with 12.2 percent, edging Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, who came in third place with 12.1 percent. In something of a surprise, Perry, who made a failed presidential attempt in 2012, came in fourth place with 11.7 percent.
Attendees cast ballots on secure iPads over the course of the convention at a pair of kiosks on the convention center grounds.
With the 2016 presidential field far from being defined, voters faced a ballot with 14 names. Some names, like Perry and Cruz, were very familiar. Others, like Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Iowa Congressman Steve King, maybe weren’t as familiar.
So early in the game, the excitement for the poll concerned how well Cruz and Perry would do. The sense was that Cruz, who was a high-profile presence at the convention on Friday, would win easily. He followed up an enthusiastically received speech in the morning with an extended stay in the exhibit hall, where he held court at an eye-grabbing booth in the center of the floor. He was joined by his father, Rafael Cruz, who is a Tea Party favorite in his own right.
Perry, meanwhile, kept his footprint at the convention small. After giving his speech on Thursday, which was also well received, he left for Austin, where he got back in time to tweet a photo of himself from the X Games competition. Perry’s speech was widely viewed as a table-setter for a second run for the White House.
Paul spoke at the convention on Friday afternoon and projected a more casual air, roaming the stage sans jacket. He mixed barbed humor — including a joke that President Barack Obama should have traded five Democrats instead of five Taliban for captured soldier Bowe Bergdahl — along with a slightly muted version of the libertarian stances of his father, former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul.
The poll results on Saturday punctuated an eventful two years for Cruz. He came to the state convention in 2012 locked in a runoff contest with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst for the Senate seat being vacated by then-U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Cruz had lost the first round of voting. But the convention confirmed that he had captured the momentum that would drive him to victory in July of that year.
The other rumored 2016 contenders on the straw poll, such as Chris Christie or Jeb Bush, didn’t have a presence at the convention.
Bush was in fifth place with 3.3 percent, well behind the first group of candidates. He was followed by Scott Walker (2.9 percent), Marco Rubio (2.6 percent), Paul Ryan (2 percent), Rick Santorum (1.9 percent), Bobby Jindal (1.7 percent) and Christie (1.3 percent).
The remaining three — Mike Pence, Kasich and King — all received less than 1 percent of the vote.
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Jeb Bush at an astounding 3.3%.The establishment types will push him on us anyway.
What is good is that we have new blood available and some real good guys.
Wish these polls were reflected all over. I think Ben Carson would make a great running mate for Ted Cruz.
Please. Let's make sure they DON'T do that.
Ted Cruz is also my favorite. I consider him right on every issue on which I’ve heard him speak.
Between Perry and Rand Paul, I’d go with Perry over Paul.
I’d go with Paul over Jeb Bush.
I haven’t mentioned the fully acceptable possibilities who also include: Sarah Palin, Sen. Jeff Sessions, Sen Mike Lee.
Those I will tolerate: Susanna Martinez, Perry, Bachman,
Those I who are on my radar who have problems but meet a low threshold but are far better than Hillary: Scot Walker, John Kasich, Jeb Bush, Rick Santorum,
Those who don’t measure up at all: Christie, Pence, Romney,
How do we stop them?They have made it abundantly clear that THEY make the important decisions,we’re here to provide money and votes.
By sticking together and not fragmenting our vote the way we conservatives did in 2012. To me the obvious way to do that is to all of us swear allegiance to the idea that the winner of the SC primary gets ALL our support, SC being the first truly conservative primary of the season.
I'd be comfortable with an elder statesman who's been on top of foreign affairs for a few decades, which Sessions provides. That seems to be Cruz's weakness.....but Cruz is a very bright guy and he'll fill in those gaps quickly.
Palin, Cruz, or LOSE.
GOD BLESS TEXAS!!!
I do think Perry would be good as an advisor to President Cruz.
Sen Jeff Sessions absolutely impresses me again and again. I do think he actually cares about the nation.
Susanna Martinez surprised me recently. She is standing strongly for life and is getting hammered for it. “New Mexico Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alan Webber told a group of political supporters that state voters need to send pro-life Gov. Susana Martinez back to “wherever she really came from.””
She spoke vehemently against women considering abortion not being given the other side about how it hurts them. She described partial birth abortion as abhorrent and asked how anyone cannot see that that baby is born.
In a state that tilts toward the democrats that takes guts. I’d like to hear more about her on other issues.
I don't understand that comment. Can you explain it? Thanks. (Honest question.)
Sen Jeff Sessions was borked by Dems when Pres Reagan nominated him to the Fed Judiciary then ran for senate and won then joined the very judiciary committee that voted against him...gotta to love that!
Got it. Thanks, sacajaweau. You’re saying one of them can’t be the presidential candidate and the other be the vice presidential.
If Pres Reagan liked him, then that’s all I need to know. Last Thursday, I believe, was the one decade anniversary of Pres Reagan’s passing.
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