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Welcome to the Political Machine - straw polls

Seems unlikely.

In the ongoing AOL straw poll McCain is winning 50 states and 64% of the popular vote. Almost 200,000 people have voted so far. Here is the link: http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2008/07/07/aol-straw-poll-july-7-14

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...

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney narrowly beat John McCain, 35 to 34 percent, in a straw poll of conservative political activists gathered Saturday in Washington — a vote that is viewed as a barometer of support from that major GOP voting bloc. The announcement of Romney’s win was greeted by cheers from the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference. McCain is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination. Roughly three-quarters of the votes in the three-day CPAC 2008 straw poll were cast before Mitt Romney dropped out of the presidential race, and one-quarter after his withdrawal.....

More than three-quarters of the ballots cast in the CPAC straw poll were turned in after Romney's much-publicized announcement. But Romney still edged out Sen. John McCain, 35 percent to 34 percent, according to the CPAC web site.

The Maricopa County Republican Party met today and elected Tom Husband as the new chairman of the county party. Congratulations Mr. Husband! The county also gave an indication of who the party faithful is supporting as the Republican nominee. Here are the results out of 721 ballots cast: Overall Votes (662 Votes): #1 - Mitt Romney - 28.4% (188) #2 - Fred Thomson - 18.3% (121) #3 - Ron Paul - 17.4% (115) #4 - Duncan Hunter - 14.0% (93) #5 - John McCain - 12.1% (80) #6 - Rudy Giuliani - 5.0% (33) #7 - Mike Huckabee - 4.8%...

Thompson wins strawpoll at GOP men's club Sunday, January 20, 2008 From staff reports Huntsville Times Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson won a presidential primary straw poll held Saturday at the breakfast meeting of the Madison County Republican Men's Club. The poll was not announced in advance and involved only those who normally attend a monthly meeting of the club, according to Elbert Peters, president. Voting was by secret ballot and 199 of the attendees participated. Thompson received 70 votes or 35.2 percent and Mitt Romney came in second with 35 votes or 17.6 percent of the total. John...

ST. GEORGE, Utah — Alan Keyes came in third in a presidential straw poll conducted Tuesday by the St. George unit of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies. Ron Paul led the balloting, followed by Mitt Romney. Filling out the field were John McCain, Fred Thompson, Duncan Hunter, Mike Huckabee, and Rudy Giuliani. The local conservative organization — which calls itself the Dixie Republican Forum, taking its name from the southern-most region of Utah — invited representatives of all the major GOP candidates to address a luncheon held in the St. George Holiday Inn. Speaking on behalf of Alan Keyes...

In the presidential preference vote, "Law & Order" actor Fred Thompson took a surprising early lead, with 82 votes, over his closest challenger, U.S. Sen. John McCain, with 46.

Ron Paul wins Aiken Straw Poll by 2 votes over Fred

If history matters to you, then voters should pick Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton and Republican Fred Thompson as their parties' presidential nominees. That's because they are the choice of America's social studies teachers. In a miniconvention sponsored by Pearson, the education and media giant, Clinton, the former first lady viewed as the most experienced in the field, was first with 41.9 percent, followed by Sen. Barack Obama with 34 percent and John Edwards at 12.3 percent. On the GOP side, Thompson, the actor and former Watergate prober, won 23.2 percent, followed by Rudy Giuliani at 20.5 percent and surging Mike...

ST. PETERSBURG -- Mitt Romney bought himself a victory in the straw poll for Republicans at a rain-shortened barbecue in Vinoy Park. Romney got 893 votes, besting second-place Ron Paul's 534 -- despite Paul's shuttling in supporters on a rented trolley and shuttle. The campaign had a plane sporting pro-Paul slogans and a boat touting him, too. In fact, Paul supporters dominated the crowd, which reached an estimated 1,000 people. Tickets for votes cost $20 each. So how did Romney do it? "I voted 20 times," Derek Gyongzois, 38, of St. Petersburg exclaimed after casting ballots. He said he works...

Rudolph Giuliani may not win New Hampshire, but he has already won the pundit primary. It’s not even close. Quite a few conservative journalists are in Giuliani’s corner. His rivals have no similar support...

While Texan Ron Paul’s stock is soaring nationally, there is trouble on the home front. In September, Paul finished third in a straw poll of 1,300 Texas Republican activists who had been delegates to recent Republican conventions. The congressman corralled just 17 percent of the votes cast, trailing California’s Duncan Hunter with 41 percent. This outcome says Texas Republicans aren’t terribly concerned about viability. Otherwise, one of the national front-runners like Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney would have beaten these long-shots. But if they were willing to “waste” their votes on Hunter, why didn’t most back a fellow Texan? The...

Voting in the current GOP Tuesday Tracker closes at midnight PST. http://www.choiceranker.com/election.php?eid=136The Tuesday Tracker is a ranked choice Presidential straw poll held each Tuesday in the continental US (The 28 hour balloting period opens at 11PM Monday and closes 3AM Wednesday, EST). Participants can rank their choices 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and on from the current pools of announced and officially-exploring candidates in the Democratic and Republican parties. Results are presented three ways: 1 Simple plurality: Like current US elections, a tally of first place votes. 2 Depth: Like college football rankings, a weighted tally of all place votes. 3 Instant...

Two former governors, Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, shared the limelight on Saturday, handily winning the top two spots in a straw poll of "values voters" conducted by the conservative Family Research Council in Washington.

The first clue that there was something odd about the results of the straw poll at the “Values Voter Summit” was Ron Paul’s strong, third-place showing. Paul emphasized his opposition to abortion rights during his speech on Friday, but he also garnered a smattering of boos when describing his libertarian worldview. When the results were published, though, there was Paul with 15% support. How’d this happen? As it turns out, the straw poll wasn’t actually a straw poll — the event’s religious right organizers made it easy to stuff the ballot box by allowing online voting. The official tally, which...

BREAKING NEWS! Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has won the inaugural Conservative Leadership Conference straw poll. Despite not appearing at the conference, Paul won convincingly with 33% of the vote. Mitt Romney, who addressed the conference in a town hall meeting and during a general session, finished second with 16%. Duncan Hunter, who also delivered a major address during the three-day event, finished third at 15%. The Full Results: Ron Paul 32.80% Mitt Romney 16.13% Duncan Hunter 14.52% Undecided 11.29% Fred Thompson 7.53% Rudy Giuliani 6.45% Alan Keyes 3.76% Mike Huckabee 3.23% Tom Tancredo 1.61% John McCain 1.08% Other 1.08%...

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, won the Jefferson County Republican Party's straw poll for president, held Saturday at the Birmingham Zoo. Paul took 115 votes of 199 for about 57 percent of total ballots cast.

%-John McCain, Sam Brownback, Alan Keyes, John Cox >1%-Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Tom Tancredo, Duncan Hunter 12%-Fred Thompson 73%-Ron Paul

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...

Mackinac Island, MI- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—September 23, 2007 CONTACT: Amy Walter (202) 280-0675 Gov Mitt Romney won the Michigan Republican Leadership Conference straw poll, receiving 39 % of the 979 votes cast. Sen. John McCain came in second with 27%, followed by Rep. Ron Paul with 10.8%. The straw poll, sponsored by the Hotline, was held this Friday and Saturday on Mackinac Island. Frmr New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was close behind Paul, taking 10.62%. Frmr Sen. Fred Thompson took 7%. All five spoke before conference attendees this weekend, as did Rep. Duncan Hunter, who took 1% of the...

Major Republican Candidates Skip Family Values Debate Mike Huckabee won "value voters" straw poll By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman September 19, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) -The four top Republican presidential candidates skipped Monday's "Values Voter" debate, leaving the forum to several second-tier candidates who lag at single digit levels of poll support. The debate, which was held at the Broward Center for Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, intended to stimulate debate over religious and moral issues, including those pertaining to human life and family. Rudolph Giuliani, who shares front runner status with Fred Thompson, claimed he had not been present at the...

Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Thursday that Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton isn't tough enough to be president. Sen. McCain, R-Ariz., told about 600 conservatives that his Senate colleague showed her lack of fortitude Thursday by voting against a resolution condemning the liberal interest group MoveOn.org for a newspaper ad calling Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, "Gen. Betray Us." "My conclusion is that if you're not tough enough to take on MoveOn.org and their attacks on a decent and honorable member of the United States military, then you can't be tough enough to be president of...

Garners 63% of delegates selected by leading activists Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee in the moments following the Values Voter Debate Sept. 17, 2007, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (WND photo) Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won the Values Voter Debate straw poll last night in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., after his performance against six other Republican presidential candidates. With 63 percent, Huckabee received more votes than all the other candidates combined. No-show candidates – the top four, according to national surveys – were included in the poll. The vote included 340 delegates who were hand-selected by 40 of the country's social...

LINCOLN, Neb. - A straw poll conducted at Husker Harvest Days shows the Nebraska farmers and ranchers who voted support Fred Thompson and Barack Obama for president. The unscientific poll was administered to 552 people at the Nebraska Farm Bureau event this week in Grand Island. Of the 387 who voted Republican, 36% picked Thompson, 16% picked Sen. John McCain of Arizona and 15% picked Rudy Giuliani. Of the 165 votes cast by Democrats, 35% were for Obama, the U.S. senator from Illinois, 31% were for Sen. Hilary Clinton of New York and 16% were for John Edwards.

A curious thing happened this year at the Maryland Republican Party booth at the State Fair: A GOP presidential straw poll was won by Ron Paul, the idiosyncratic congressman from Texas who is a fierce critic of the Iraq war. Perhaps just as curious was the Maryland GOP's decision to trumpet the results in a news release last week with the headline: "Maryland GOP Presidential Straw Poll Is a Big Success; Grassroots Candidate Wins Surprise Upset." According to the release, Paul received 263 votes, and former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani (for whom Republican former governor Robert L. Ehrlich...

Fred Thompson won the first-ever South Dakota Republican Party presidential straw poll at the South Dakota State. More than 500 people voted in the straw poll, and the former Tennessee senator got 25 percent from a field of nine candidates. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani came in second with 19 percent, and U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona was third with 14 percent. The state GOP allowed anyone to vote in the straw poll if they would be at least 18 by the state primary election next June.

ANNAPOLIS— After eleven days of presidential straw poll ballots cast at the Maryland Republican Party’s State Fair booth, Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) was announced last night as the winner. The Maryland Republican Party’s first-ever presidential straw poll at the State Fair resulted in nearly 1,000 Marylanders casting a vote for their favorite Republican candidate for president.

A question was axed of Democrat Party Activists: Just a quick snapshot, entirely unscientific, etc., but these polls do help us keep things in perspective, I think. The likely top nine prospective candidates are listed alphabetically, without comment. Don't worry--I won't argue with your choices or dispute your rationales--this isn't one of THOSE polls. If you choose "other," please specify in your reply. Also, if you vote please consider giving the poll a kick. Also, if you think these polls are a total waste of time, why the hell did you click on it? Also, yes, I've included a couple...

FORT WORTH – Rep. Duncan Hunter of California will go down as the official winner of the first-ever Texas Republican straw poll. But what followers of politics will be talking about is former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson's second-place finish. His strong showing cements the actor turned presidential contender as the conservative alternative to front-runners like former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Arizona Sen. John McCain. When he officially announces his candidacy Thursday, Mr. Thompson will be able to point to President Bush's home state to counter questions about his conservative credentials. Not bad for...

FORT WORTH, TEXAS – Congressman Ron Paul placed third in today's Texas GOP Straw Poll with 16 percent of the vote. The solid outcome marked the conclusion of a highly successful weekend during which the campaign had a rally with over 1,000 attendees, raised well over $100,000. Today’s results continue a trend around the nation of top or middle tier finishes for the Paul campaign. The presence of Dr. Paul supporters dominated the straw poll site, and campaign leaders were pleased with the results in light of the difficult voting restrictions. Only recent party delegates were allowed to cast ballots,...

The vote was supposed to be until 1 or 2 pm, but GOP security prevented registered Delegates from entering the building who were wearing Ron Paul signs at 10am. I was standing over by the Granny warriors when 2 delegates approached me and asked me to help them get into the convention center. They had showed up at the door a little before 10am wearing Ron Paul shirts. The security guard told them to change into proper attire. They left and changed then came back and it was now 10:10/10:20 and the security told them the registration was closed. Apparently...

FORT WORTH – About 250 war protesters gathered outside the Texas Republican straw poll Saturday, calling for an immediate troop withdrawal and the impeachment of President Bush. Organizers who promised thousands would attend the protest said the lower- than-expected turnout inside the straw poll had an effect. Among the speakers was Cindy Sheehan, who became the face of the anti-war movement after setting up camp outside the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas. Ms. Sheehan, the mother of a killed-in-action soldier, plans to challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi next year because the California Democrat has not sought to impeach the president....

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...

41.1% Duncan Hunter (534 votes) 20.5% Fred Thompson (266 votes) 16.17% Ron Paul (217 votes) 6.4% Mike Huckabee (83 votes) 6% Rudy Giuliani (78 votes) 4.7% Mitt Romney (61 votes) 2.2% Ray McKinney (28 votes) .77% John Cox (10 votes) .62% John McCain (8 votes) .46% Sam Brownback (6 votes) .46% Tom Tancredo (6 votes) .23% Hugh Cort (3 votes)

FORT WORTH -- Rep. Ron Paul wasn't there for most of the first day of the Republican straw poll Friday, but his presence was felt everywhere. In the "Ron Paul" placards people carried throughout downtown. In the T-shirt likeness of him that supporters wore around the Fort Worth Convention Center. In the signs posted in front of the convention center, on vehicles parked there and on some downtown businesses such as Four Star Coffee Bar. Paul, of Surfside, didn't make it into Fort Worth until his night rally downtown. Nonetheless, he was a candidate who was impossible to ignore. "We're...

Grasping at straws? Speeches, protests and presidential politics, Texas style. That's what will be going on in and around the Fort Worth Convention Center on Friday and Saturday, during the Republican Party of Texas' first-ever GOP Straw Poll. Who is coming? What are they saying? What are they doing? Many presidential hopefuls -- Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, to name a few -- have sent their regrets. But several lesser-known candidates -- U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Surfside, U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Ray McKinney and Hugh Cort -- are still expected to...

Secretary of State State Fair “Straw Poll” Results (Louisville, KY) Kentucky looks to still be a competitive state in the upcoming presidential race if results from the first-ever Office of the Secretary of State State Fair “Straw Poll” are any indication. 1,976 voters cast ballots during the state fair at the Office of the Secretary of State’s booth. New York Senator Hilary Clinton was the overall winner with 349 votes, nearly twice as many as her closest Democratic competitor. On the Republican side, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney earned a victory with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Arkansas...

Campaign News (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) GOP hopefuls trying to avoid the short straw: Out of the slew of Republican presidential hopefuls, three second-tier candidates and two political novices are slated to attend this weekend's 2007 Townhall.com presidential straw poll in Fort Worth. Each hopes the event will be his chance in the limelight, an opportunity to step out of the shadow of high-profile players such as former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, U.S. Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, all of whom are skipping this first-of-its-kind event. The lack of star power has caused a ripple effect,...

Republican Fred Thompson sidestepped questions Monday about the departure of yet another high-level aide to his presidential campaign-in-waiting. Linda Rozett, a longtime U.S. Chamber of Commerce official, is gone from the former Tennessee senator's committee to "test the waters" of a presidential bid after spending the last several weeks as communications director. "I don't know what the story is," said Thompson, who was asked about the departure while campaigning at the Minnesota state fair. "I don't know what to say about it except that she's a wonderful lady." Rozett's departure was disclosed in an e-mail to staffers from campaign manager...

Coming off the Iowa Straw Poll the momentum for the Ron Paul 2008 campaign continues to build. Congressman Ron Paul has finished in the top 5 in 16 of the last 17 straw polls and can claim 1st place victories in New Hampshire, North Carolina, Washington, and Alabama. In comparing results head-to-head, Congressman Paul has blown away most of the field, defeating Rudy Giuliani in 15 of the 17 polls and John McCain in 15 of the 16 polls. There are straw polls coming up all across the country so be sure to check in with your local GOP to...

(St. Paul) Hundreds of Republican activists gathered at the St. Paul River Center to cast ballots in a non-binding Presidential Preference Straw Poll Wednesday night. The poll was sponsored in conjunction with a House Republican fundraiser and included party leaders, Republican Legislators, Former Republican Lawmakers, party activists and boosters for various candidates. Results of the Minnesota Republican Presidential Straw Poll are as follows: Former Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee won a narrow victory, although his name was not even on the ballot. As Thompson is not an officially announced candidate, voters had to physically write in his name as their...

GRAPEVINE -- 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. But the California Republican was all smiles. He was courteous when members of Gaylord security staff showed up and mentioned that they had learned about Hunter's news conference on the Internet. Politely but firmly, they told him that they expected...

Ron Paul won big earlier today in Alabama. He also won big in New Hampshire this afternoon. Dr. Paul received 208 votes (73%) for a landslide victory against Mitt Romney today at the Strafford County, New Hampshire straw poll. Romney received 26 votes. Mike Huckabee came in third with 20 votes. Tancredo (8 votes), McCain (7 votes), Cox (5 votes), Hunter (5 votes), Thompson (5 votes), Giuliani (3 votes) and Brownback (1 vote) finished the field. As noted earlier, Ron Paul received 216 votes for a commanding first-place finish in a straw poll today sponsored by the West Alabama Republican...

Following Mitt Romney's decisive victory and Mike Huckabee's surprise second place finish at the Iowa Straw Poll, the campaigns must quickly turn their attention to the next pre-primary season challenge - the Townhall.com Texas Republican Straw Poll. On a hot Iowa Saturday, thousands of Mitt Romney supporters delivered 31% of the Iowa Straw Poll votes and a clear victory. It was a test of his campaign's ability to organize in the first in the nation caucus state and he passed with flying colors. Gov. Mike Huckabee wowed the audience and came in a surprising second place with 18% of the...

On Saturday, the Alabama Republican Assembly tried to get a sense of which conservative candidate Alabamians are supporting most by holding an informal straw poll at the Bryant Conference Center. Out of 266 ballots cast, it was Texas Congressman Ron Paul by an overwhelming majority, with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in a distant second. "People buy tickets, they get a meal and the vote for the candidate of their choice,” said Ron Paul supporter Mark Nielson. Whether it's Romney, Giuliani, Thompson, or any of the other seven top republican candidates running for president, some Alabamians are speaking their mind...

Mike Huckabee parlayed a Southern governor's folksy charm, four outstanding debate performances and a populist economic message that sets him apart from the rest of the Republican presidential field into a second-place finish in last week's Iowa presidential straw poll. Now he hopes he can take the leap from also-ran to first-tier contender — and his campaign says they are already seeing the turn. He said his straw-poll showing translated into more than 1,000 new online donors in three days, and he has added fundraisers in 16 states over the next three months, trying to help his campaign finances catch...

John Edwards and Fred Thompson won the first Tuesday Tracker Poll at ChoiceRanker.comThe Tuesday Tracker is a new ranked choice Presidential straw poll that will be open each Tuesday in the continental US (The 28 hour balloting period opens at 11PM Monday and closes 3AM Wednesday, EST). Participants can rank their choices 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and on from the current pools of announced and officially-exploring candidates in the Democratic and Republican parties. Results are presented three ways: 1 Simple plurality: Like current US elections, a tally of first place votes. 2 Depth: Like college football rankings, a weighted tally of...