Thread: Ron Paul Wins CPAC Straw Poll

February 20, 2010, 6:16 pm

Ron Paul Wins CPAC Straw Poll

By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE

And the winner is … Ron Paul.

Mr. Paul, a Republican Congressman from Texas who inspired an intense following for president in 2008, swept the 2012 presidential straw poll Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

He won with 31 percent of the nearly 2,400 votes at the conference, edging out Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, who won the straw poll last year and who captured 22 percent of the vote.When Mr. Paul’s name was announced in the packed ballroom of a Washington hotel, it elicited hoots and boos along with applause. Although Mr. Romney won fewer votes, he seemed to draw stronger applause.

Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska, who did not attend the conference, was a distant third, with 7 percent of the vote.

About half of the 10,000 people attending the conference are students, according to the poll.

The straw poll in past years has rarely predicted the winner of the Republican nomination.

Despite the poll, David Keene, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, which runs the CPAC conference, said that there was little talk at the conference of the 2012 presidential race, largely because Republicans are focused on the 2010 midterms.

“We all have our eyes on the closest target,â€

Feb 20, 2010

Ron Paul wins CPAC presidential straw poll

06:58 PM
By Cliff Owen, AP

Talk about your political upsets.

Rep. Ron Paul, hero of a fervant band of libertarians, unexpectedly won the presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference today, claiming 31% of the votes cast.

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who has carried the survey for the past three years, was second at 22%.

The straw poll is unscientific but is sometimes seen as a show of organizational strength among presidential hopefuls. However, Paul, who made a longshot bid for the Republican nomination in 2008, has given no indication he plans to run again.

"It is clear that Paul brought a lot of people" to CPAC, said Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio, who ran the straw poll.

Fabrizio said 2,395 of a reported 10,000 attendees voted. It was the most votes in the history of CPAC -- about 40% higher than last year, he said.

Fabrizio noted that Romney's support was about the same as in last year's straw poll but that support for former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and former House speaker Newt Gingrich was cut by about half.

Palin was at 7%, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty at 6%, Indiana Rep. Mike Pence at 6% and Gingrich and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee at 4%.

Romney, Pawlenty, Pence and Gingrich had addressed this year's CPAC, but Palin had not.

In the straw poll, a majority also said they were dissatisfied with the field of contenders for the 2012 nomination against President Obama.

The announcement of the results brought gasps, cheers and a round of boos from a packed ballroom. The annual three-day conclave, hosted by the American Conservative Union, ended tonight with an address by Glenn Beck.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities ... raw-poll/1

CPAC

Confirmed Speakers Include:

Hon. Dick Armey
Hon. John Ashcroft
Rep. Michele Bachmann
Glenn Beck
Amb. John Bolton
Andrew Breitbart
Herman Cain
Tucker Carlson
Liz Cheney
Ann Coulter
Sen. Jim DeMint
Hon. Newt Gingrich
David Keene
Wayne LaPierre
Rep. Ron Paul
Gov. Tim Pawlenty
Rep. Mike Pence
Rep. Tom Price
Hon. Mitt Romney
Hon. Marco Rubio
Hon. Rick Santorum
Hon. J.C. Watts
George F. Will

“CPAC has consistently over the years championed those ideas that have made America great: limited government, free enterprise, low taxes and a strong national defense.â€

Wow!! Ron Paul won the CPAC straw poll?!!

The straw poll in past years has rarely predicted the winner of the Republican nomination.

Ron Paul has always struck me as one who speaks about ugly truths, which few other politicians seem to do. Everything from him has been statements not worrying about his political rear end. He has proven people appreciate honesty more than the flowery subversions and the rest of the politicos should start looking at what they are doing. Few seem to understand the American voter is not as dumb as they think were are.

"Palin was at 7%"

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Washington Times interviews Mark Krikorian at CPAC

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-188989.html