Ron Paul Wins Presidential Straw Poll at CPAC
Paul, a Republican congressman from Texas known for his libertarian views, ran for president in 2008 but was never a serious contender for the GOP nomination.
Ron Paul has ended Mitt Romney’s three-year run as conservatives’ favorite for president, taking 31 percent of the vote in the Conservative Political Action Conference’s annual straw poll.
Paul, a Republican congressman from Texas known for his libertarian views, ran for president in 2008 but was never a serious contender for the GOP nomination.
Romney, former Massachusetts governor and also a 2008 GOP candidate, has won the last three presidential straw polls at the annual conference. This year, he came in second, with 22 percent.
Sarah Palin, who didn’t attend the conference, was a distant third in the straw poll, with 7 percent, followed by Tim Pawlenty, the Minnesota governor, and Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana.
The straw poll is not binding — and not necessarily a good forecaster, given that in 2008, John McCain went on to take the party’s nomination over Romney.
Results of this year’s poll were announced just as the crowd prepared for the conference’s keynote speaker, Fox News host, ehh, some nutjob loon.
Update: Fox already dissed the poll above, now they bring us this.
Ron Paul’s surprising win in the 2010 CPAC Presidential Straw Poll spurred audible gasps and boos in the room. Only about 25 percent of the nearly ten thousand CPAC registrants turned in ballots, but partication was very high among the younger attendees.
Fox news have never liked Paul. During the election debates, when Paul won a fox news poll judging who was the most popular candidate for the Republican nomination, and Paul won by a landslide, the hosts slagged off their own poll. (There’s probably vids, but I can’t find them at this moment in time). This is just more of the same.
