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The poll was restated today: 29,356 votes so far. McCain is leading Obama by 74-26%. Go to the link to vote.

John McCain by a landslide. At least that’s the consensus from the recreational vehicle community, according to the latest RVBUSINESS.com Industry Poll that asked respondents to weigh in on November’s presidential election. Fully 67% of the 346 participants cast their ballots for Republican Senator McCain. Democratic Senator Barack Obama was a distant second at 25% while Libertarian Bob Barr carried 2% and another 6% were undecided. The overwhelming factor among McCain supporters was his level of experience. “There are several key issues, including national security, taxes and the economy,” said a member of the supplier community. “Obama is inexperienced and...

WASHINGTON - Talk about cold comfort. Mitt Romney, who dropped out of the Republican presidential race on Thursday, won a straw poll of conservative activists on Saturday, edging out likely nominee John McCain. Ballots for the straw poll conducted at the Conservatives Political Action Conference were collected Thursday morning through Friday afternoon. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, quit the race in a midday speech to the conference on Thursday. In the straw poll vote, Romney got 35 percent and McCain 34 percent. Mike Huckabee and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas tied with 12 percent. Romney won the straw poll at...

Current Results Republicans 138,270 Ron Paul 44,805 32% Rudy Guliani 22,520 16% Mike Huckabee 21,768 16% John McCain 18,996 14% Mitt Romney 17,640 13% Fred Thompson 11,169 11% Duncan Hunter 1,372 1% Democrats 123,492 Hillary Clinton 55,172 45% Barak Obama 33,786 27% John Edwards 19,810 16% Joe Biden 4,940 4% Dennis Kucinich 4,825 4% Bill Richardson 3,479 2% Chris Dodd 762 1% Mike Gravel 718 1%

ARLINGTON -- Texas Rep. Ron Paul easily won a presidential poll at a Republican Party of Virginia conference here yesterday. Paul polled 182 out of about 500 votes cast. Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson finished second with 112 votes, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee finished third with 51 votes. The straw poll was held at the 24th annual Republican Advance, generally attended by activists and grass-roots workers, at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel in the Washington suburbs.

Based on the smattering of applause that Mr. Romney got when his name was announced as the top vote getter, with 1,595 votes or 27.6 percent, it is safe to say that many in the hall were surprised that he won, surpassing Mr. Huckabee by 30 votes... Things shake up differently when looking at only the votes that were made by those on-site. Of 952 votes cast on-site, Mr. Huckabee received 488, or 51 percent, a virtual runaway in such a crowded field. Mr. Romney had only 99 votes, or 10.4 percent; Mr. Thompson received 77 votes, or 8 percent;...

It could be an episode of Paul Harvey’s “The Rest of the Story.” Mitt Romney was announced from the podium Saturday afternoon as the winner of the Family Research Council’s “Values Voter Straw Poll,” narrowly edging Mike Huckabee. But it turns out that the 5,775-vote total included thousands of people who had voted online, and could have become eligible by paying as little as $1 to join FRC Action, the legislative action arm of Family Research Council. Although the audience at the Washington Hilton was not told, the crowd favorite among the 952 attendees who voted in person turned out...

Mitt Romney won the Family Research Council Values Voters' Summit straw poll in Washington Saturday, barely beating out Mike Huckabee with just 30 more votes. Romney garnered 1595 votes to Huckabee's 1565 in the poll of conservative activists. Ron Paul was third with 865 and Fred Thompson was fourth with 564 votes. No vote count has been announced for Rudy Giuliani. Romney spoke at the summit Friday and called for ending the "marriage penalty" and decreasing out-of-wedlock birth. In a veiled hit at his rival, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and his more liberal positions on gay rights and...

The Ohio Republican Party announced today the results of its 2007 Presidential Straw Poll, declaring former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson the winner with 33 percent of the vote. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani took second with 24 percent, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney placed third with 17 percent of the ballots cast. A Fred vs. Hillary matchup would be an interesting repolarization of Ohio, as one would expect that the southern-oriented south and southwest Ohio would be quite friendly to Fred. I would think that Northeast Ohio would remain friendly to Hillary, leaving a big fight over...

The Hannah Report is covering news that the Ohio Republican Party released the results of its recent straw poll for the 2008 presidential primary showing the pro-gun former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson leading the anti-gun former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. In the poll, Thompson received 33 percent, Giuliani received 24 percent, former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney received 17 percent, U.S. Sen. John McCain received 11 percent, former Ark. Gov. Mike Huckabee seven percent, U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback four percent, followed by Duncan Hunter with two percent, Ron Paul one percent, and Tom Tancredo one percent. Nearly 2,300 Republicans...

This week's ranked choice straw poll is now open. Balloting closes at midnight PST. http://www.choiceranker.com/election.php?eid=126 September's poll for officially-announced GOP candidates is here: http://www.choiceranker.com/election.php?eid=116 Another month-long poll including Newt Gingrich is here: http://www.choiceranker.com/election.php?eid=117 Fred Thompson won last week's Tuesday Tracker. See the results here: http://www.choiceranker.com/election.php?eid=123 The system uses a ranked choice ballot and displays results in three ways: 1. Plurality (what you're used to) 2. Depth (a system similar to college football rankings) 3. Instant Runoff (like the system in Australia and some US cities) Instant Runoff trumps if the different systems result in different winners.

Yes, that headline is right. Mitt Romney lost the Ames Straw Poll Saturday in Iowa. True, he came in first with 31 percent of the vote, but he spent lavishly, and couldn't crack 50 percent in a race in which every other member of the top-tier of candidates declined to participate. That's right - in a field devoid of any other well-funded competition, in a race whose winner tends to be the guy with the most money to buy tickets and bus in supporters from all corners of the Hawkeye state, Romney couldn't get a third of the vote -...

HURON – Fred Thompson won the first-ever South Dakota Republican Party Presidential Straw Poll at the South Dakota State Fair Aug. 30 through Sept. 3, 2007. Thompson bested the field of nine garnering 25 percent of the vote. He was followed by Rudy Giuliani who received 19 percent; John McCain received 14 percent, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney each received 13 percent; Ron Paul received 8 percent; Duncan Hunter received 4 percent; Sam Brownback received 3 percent; and Tom Tancredo received 1 percent of the vote. More than 500 people voted in the poll which was conducted at the...

Congressman Duncan Hunter visited Northern Nevada over the Labor Day weekend. He attended the Best of the West Rib Cookoff in Sparks, NV on Sunday and spoke at the kick-off for the Fight For Victory Tour in Carson City, NV on Monday.

The Coryell County GOP Straw Poll was a great success with speakers informing us about each of ten declared and undeclared candidates. Our speakers included Borah Van Dormolen, Texas President of the Republican Women’s Clubs; Justice Tom Gray, Court of Appeals, Chris DeCluitt, President of the Waco Republican Club, Marc LeGare, a local citizen, Earnest Remedies, Precinct Chairman; Lee Kelley, Secretary of the Coryell GOP, Peggy Thompson, Vice Chairman, and myself. It was well presented information and informative. Duncan Hunter took 35 percent of the vote, Fred Thompson got 30% and Mitt Romney received 20%. We’ll be better informed now...

As the vote tallies were announced at the Texas Republican straw poll Saturday, at least one supporter of Rep. Ron Paul of Lake Jackson couldn't contain his frustration. "Fix!" he yelled from the back of the ballroom at the Fort Worth Convention Center. "There's no way." The congressman put a great deal of effort into the event in his home state, even paying to bus in supporters. They seemed to be the largest force in town. So it was a disappointment to those supporters when he came in third. Some were convinced that Dr. Paul won. "The results are totally...

FredHeads: As you may know, the Texas Straw Poll will be held in Fort Worth on Saturday, September 1. Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and John McCain WILL NOT be actively participating. It's also expected that our man Fred will not be actively participating. Given these facts, this poll is WIDE OPEN, folks. It's anybody's ball game. I've been told that FRED WILL BE ON THE BALLOT, and I'm working on getting official confirmation on that. If Fred's on the ballot, we have a golden opportunity to generate a very nice showing for our man right here in Texas. The state...

The Texas Straw Poll is one for the history books. The failure of the legislature to move up the Texas primary date, the scheduling of the event on Labor Day weekend and the first day of dove-hunting season, the limiting of participants to past convention delegates rather than Republican primary voters, and the lack of participation by the leading candidates all contributed to an extremely low turnout. The event ended up being a showcase for Texas Congressman Ron Paul and California Congressman Duncan Hunter. Expectations were high for Ron Paul, and no doubt his supporters are disappointed by his third...

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - California congressman Duncan Hunter has won Texas' first Republican Party Straw Poll. Hunter got 534 votes. Former Tennessee senator and actor Fred Thompson came in second with 266 votes, and Texas congressman Ron Paul came in third with 217 votes. The low-turnout event in Fort Wroth lacked the top-tier presidential candidates. Other candidates attending were Chicago businessman John Cox, counterterrorism expert Hugh Cort of Birmingham, Ala., and tool & die maker Ray McKinney of Savannah, Ga. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Arizona Senator John McCain, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Governor...

The good news for U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter is that he should get plenty of exposure during the Texas Republican Straw Poll during the Labor Day weekend. The bad news is that on Wednesday afternoon, only one newspaper reporter and one TV news crew showed up for his news conference at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center.

http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070819/ELECTION01/708190344 Due to copyright issues, link only....

TUSCALOOSA | Supporters of Congressman Ron Paul dominated the West Alabama Republican Assembly 2007 Presidential Preference Straw Poll held at the Bryant Conferent Center this afternoon. Of the 266 votes casts during the poll, Paul claimed 216 of them, landing him an easy win.

Ron Paul received 216 votes for a commanding first-place finish in a straw poll today sponsored by the West Alabama Republican Assembly. Mitt Romney came in second with 14 votes. The poll was open to Alabama residents.

This e-wire / report ultimately makes two points: 1. The voting process at the Iowa Straw Poll was a fraud, wrapped in lies. (Whenever those running any kind of an election use police power to hide all the ballots from the people, and then announce results (?) when supposedly (?) only they have seen the ballots – those people are frauds, are acting like Stalin-esque tyrants, and their organization is a fraud. That award goes in our current drama to the Iowa GOP leadership, namely Ted Sporer, Chuck Laudner, Mary Tiffany, Craig Robinson, and Chairman Ray Hoffman. What they did...

Last week's Iowa straw poll got a lot of national attention -- historically it's known to be something that could make or break a presidential candidate. On Thursday, Illinois got in on the action, with its first-ever straw poll. The polls were open at the state fair, and voters chose a candidate for president. But it's not Election Day -- its the first straw poll in Illinois. "You felt the enthusiasm in that room -- here it is, it was pouring rain at the time, and people were literally standing in the rain waiting to vote,” said Illinois State Republican...

I'm pleased to report that the FredHead Express team made it safely back in Texas. The response in Iowa was really great. More often than not, our table had people in front of it giving us encouragement and begging for Fred stuff. A bunch of people from the rival campaigns dropped by to (quietly) tell us they'd be backing Fred once he's in. Some whispered that they'd voted for Fred in the poll. A McCain supporter told us the McCain folks sent out an "alert" once they found out we were there. We all got a kick out of that...

Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson's campaign signaled tonight that he would end his presidential bid Sunday, a day after his 6th place finish in the Iowa Republican Party's straw poll. Steve Grubbs, his senior national adviser, said a formal statement would be released Sunday. Still, Grubbs made plain that Thompson would call it quits. "The governor said from the beginning that if he didn't do well in the straw poll that it was unlikely that he would continue," he said. "Without a strong finish, it will be next to impossible to raise the money necessary to keep the campaign going...

Huckabee is dazzling. I've said all along that Huckabee has been the stand out guy in all the debates. He's won several of the debates, even though the media would rather fixate on McCain. It just might be time for Brownback to call it a day, though Ames plausibly gives him staying power. Sadly, Ames will give Tancredo and Paul credibility they do not deserve, which is why, at the end of the day, I can't give Ames much credibility. At least we can be done with Tommy G-string Thompson. There is no way Tancredo is going to get the...

Republican presidential candidates transformed the campus of Iowa State University into a conservative carnival Saturday, competing for votes by offering free soda and barbecue and a promise of shade for the thousands who braved the 100-degree heat to attend this year's straw poll. The activists came by the busload, more than 30,000 in all, for the first voting of the 2008 presidential campaign. But for many, casting ballots was an afterthought as they made their way past huge stages with live bands, inflatable bouncy rooms for the kids and fair-style booths touting one conservative cause after another. The Iowa Right...

AMES, Iowa - Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won an easy and expected victory in a high-profile Iowa Republican Party Straw Poll on Saturday, claiming nearly twice as many votes as his nearest rival.

Duncan Hunter's Iowa Straw Poll speech.

Gov Mitt Romney won the 2007 Ames straw poll, receiving 4516 votes, or 31%. In a surprise, Gov. Mike Huckabee finished second with 2587 votes at 18.1% 11. John Cox with 41 votes. 10. John McCain with 101 votes. 9. Duncan Hunter with 174 votes. 8. Rudy Giuliani with 183 votes. 7. Fred Thomson with 231 votes. 6. Tommy Thompson, 1,009 votes, 7.3% 5. Ron Paul with 1305 votes, and 9.1% 4. Tom Tancredo with 1961 votes, 13.7%. 3. Sen. Sam Brownback with 2192 votes and 15.3%

<p>I didn't see a live thread for the Iowa Straw Poll, so I figured I would start one in case anyone else is watching and wants to comment.</p>

On Eve of Straw Poll, Ron Paul Says GOP Has Lost its Way by: T.M. Lindsey Friday (08/10) at 17:16 PM GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul will be the first to admit that he's still trying to catch up with the "Ron Paul Revolution." During a telephone interview before a rally in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, the congressman from Texas confessed: "In many ways, I joined the group of people who started the Ron Paul Revolution, because I also wanted to see significant changes in this country."Paul added, "I, kiddingly but somewhat seriously, say thanks for inviting me to the...

At a southeast Ames coffee shop Friday morning, U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter mingled with guests, telling stories of life on the campaign trail and why he is the best candidate to be president of the United States in 2008. The gathering space was filled with a few undecided voters and a mob of Hunter supporters. It was the sort of scene that replicated itself at restaurants, cafés and candidate headquarters in Mid-Iowa throughout the day Friday as Republican senators, congressmen and former governors sought to generate excitement and the last few votes that could lead them to a better...

FreedomWorks is conducting this nationwide online straw poll to measure where the candidates stand among our members. The GOP Strawpoll ends at midnight, August 2nd, and the totals will be reported back to FreedomWorks members and the national media. VOTE NOW!!

Voting begins on Tuesday, July 31 and will continue until Thursday, August 2nd. Vote in the Republican Straw Poll this week and in the Democratic Straw Poll next week! Tell your friends!

Think of it as a good barometer of what might happen in the important upcoming January caucuses in the Hawkeye State. That's what Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa) is saying when he speaks about the Iowa Straw Poll.King believes that no presidential hopeful can win next year's Iowa Caucuses without being competitive in the upcoming Iowa Straw Poll. The congressman has been hobnobbing with the various GOP presidential hopefuls who have been visiting his state, hoping to impress caucus members. The hopefuls will then gather in January for the traditional opening venue of the presidential election season. He says on August...

FORT WORTH -- Three leading Republican presidential hopefuls won't attend Texas' first-ever straw poll over Labor Day weekend, and several more are on the fence. But at least four candidates plan to come, and anti-war activists are moving forward with plans to hold retreats, meetings and other gatherings here that weekend and will protest at the event, which organizers expect to draw thousands of Texas Republicans -- and measure their support for GOP presidential candidates. "This event obviously is designed for potential Republican nominees to have a dialogue with grassroots leaders," said Hans Klingler, spokesman for the Texas Republican Party....

Tommy Thompson Wins Linn County Straw Poll Former Wisconsin Governor and Republican presidential candidate, Tommy Thompson won the Linn County Straw Poll held today at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. Governor Tommy Thompson won with 33% of the vote. All Republican presidential candidates were included in the straw poll. [NOTE: This includes the unannonced candidate Fred Thompson, who received 2.7% of vote amoung Linn County Republicans] "Linn County is Iowa's second largest county and is traditionally a bellwether county. Today's victory reflects the strong grassroots campaign that Governor Thompson is building in Iowa," said Chad Olsen, Iowa campaign...

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. Rudy Giuliani shocked and angered some Iowa Republicans yesterday by announcing that he was snubbing their state's huge August straw poll - the largest such GOP gathering in the country. The Aug. 11 straw poll expected to draw as many as 50,000 party activists from across the state, is considered an early test of a candidate's strength and an indication of how he or she might do in the state's first-in-the-nation caucuses on Jan. 14. .......... But miffed Iowa Republican officials yesterday scoffed that Giuliani has little chance of winning the caucus after skipping the straw poll. "It's...

A statement from campaign manager Terry Nelson: "In light of today's news, it is clear that the Ames Straw Poll will not be a meaningful test of the leading candidates' organizational abilities, so we have decided to forego our participation in the event." Not a surprise. Why would McCain want to spend $3 million? Mitt Romney's in a big bind. He'll do well after winning Ames only if there's an expectation that he might not do well or if the field is competitive.

Des Moines, IA (LifeNews.com) -- The winner of the Republican straw poll in Iowa in August has always gone on to capture the president primary victory the next year in the nation's first presidential contest. However, Rudy Giuliani's campaign says the pro-abortion ex-mayor plans to skip the straw poll but still compete in the caucuses. "We've made a decision as a campaign not to play in any straw polls this year, most notably, obviously, the Ames straw poll," Giuliani's national campaign manager Mike DuHaime told the Des Moines Register."We are 100 percent committed to winning the Iowa caucuses. We're going...

...snip...But I digress. The Giuliani shindig actually made conference call history because something important happened. The campaign announced it would be skipping the Ames Straw Poll. I’m assuming that this news arose not out of a genuine feeling that straw polls are for dorks, but rather because Team Rudy knew it would get creamed. And if Rudy got creamed in Ames, holding onto his media bestowed frontrunner crown would be a large task indeed.

WASHINGTON - Rudy Giuliani, the front-runner in national polls for the Republican presidential nomination, will skip a critical early test of political strength in Iowa this summer, bypassing a GOP straw poll, his campaign said Wednesday. The former New York City mayor will still compete in the state's lead-off caucuses in January, and aides said he plans to beef up his Iowa campaign staff soon. "We are 100 percent committed to winning the Iowa caucuses in January," Mike DuHaime, Giuliani's campaign manager, said in a conference call with reporters. He said the estimated $3 million a campaign typically spends to...

Former US Senator Fred Thompson, of Tennessee, won the Georgia Republican Convention's presidential straw poll Saturday. Thompson garnered 188 votes while former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich, from Georgia, was second with 77 votes. Neither has entered the race.

U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter scored high in a recent straw poll of members of the California Republican Assembly, a conservative group of volunteers that Ronald Reagan once called the "conscience" of the Republican Party. Hunter, R-El Cajon, spoke to a gathering of the group in Orange County last week and drew 22 votes or 19 percent of the ballots cast in the poll, tying him with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Coming in first in the poll was a man not even officially in the race, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who drew 28 votes. Thompson is considering entering the...

Salon's Republican chronicler, Michael Scherer, dug in to several South Carolina county Republican conventions, and concluded, in an article about dirty politicking in the state, that, yes, Gov. Mitt Romney's South Carolina field operation is probably paying for delegates to state conventions in the hope that said generosity (and a healthy dollop of Mitt Love, Mitt appearances, and Mitt mailings, ) would help Romney win the convention straw polls. Scherer was unable to convince Romney aides to admit the obvious -- of course they're paying -- and in doing so, seems to have trapped a Romney organizer in a bit...

BREAKING: Officials with the California Republican Assembly released the results of their presidential preference straw poll which occurred during their Spring convention in San Bernardino County. The California Republican Assembly is California's largest GOP volunteer organization and works to uphold conservative values and principles in public policy. The organization is often called the "conscience of the Republican Party." Despite not being an officially declared presidential candidate (or having an active presence at the Republican gathering), former US Senator Fred Dalton Thompson of Tennessee scored a huge upset, netting the votes of 28 CRA delegates. Tied for second place with 22...