CPAC 2014 Straw Poll Results

Rand Paul 31%
Ted Cruz 11%
Dr. Ben Carson 9%
Gov. Chris Christie 8%
Gov. Scott Walker 7%
Rick Santorum 7%
Marco Rubio 6%
Paul Ryan 3%
Gov. Sarah Palin2%
Gov. Mike Huckabee2%
Condi Rice 2%
Gov. Bobby Jindal 2%
Gov. Rick Perry 3%

Close to half, 46% were between the ages of 18 and 25

51% disapprove of republicans in congress.  I am actually surprised it was that low.

52% would like to see Europe and other allies start to provide their own national defense.

41% would like to see marijuana to be legalized and taxed.

CPAC Straw Poll Results

Ames Straw Poll Predictions

Michele Bachmann will win by a small margin

Ron Paul will come in second or third.  He is an expert at getting people to vote in straw polls

Mitt Romney will do better than most people think. 

Herman Cain will place in the top 6, but it will not be enough to give him the momentum he needs to raise his profile and much needed cash

Pawlenty really hurt himself the other night and he fill finish very poorly and will be dropping out of the race before the real vote is cast

Gingrich will finish close to the bottom, he won't be too far behind Pawlenty in calling it a day

Huntsman won't even register

Rick Perry will have a very good showing even though he is a write in

Sarah Palin will do remarkably well for someone who has not announced her candidacy

Santorum I think will do better than originally predicted, he had a good showing at the debate last night, he is also beloved by social conservatives for his strong and outspoken voice for the voiceless on abortion

McCotter may actually have a bit of an impact in the poll.  He has a wonderful dry sense of humor and is a Midwesterner  Some votes of his are suspect, but overall a good solid conservative

I read in the paper today what the candidates are serving in their tents - i.e Cain is serving Godfather Pizza of course, Bachmann is doing B-B-Q and Funnel Cake, Paul wouldn't announce what he was serving, but the funniest part is that almost every candidate is having Mike Huckabee playing his bass.  He will be making the rounds for the party tomorrow in Ames - I suppose he need to fill his one hour show on Fox

Who do you think will win? 

Pawlenty's Powerful Ad

Yes, experience matters.  We have seen that all too clearly over the past two plus years. 

Pawlenty has poured a great deal of his very limited treasure into the Ames Straw Poll to be held this weekend.  His candidacy may just have to come to a close if he doesn't do well.  So he puts out this very powerful and very true ad.  It started hitting the airwaves today.

Conservative Principles Pac Conference - Herman Cain,

Herman Cain at Tea Party Summit

Below is the speech that Herman Cain gave at the Tea Party Summit over the weekend.  He was interrupted about 20 times for standing ovations. 

He is a charismatic speaker.  He also was the winner of the straw poll for the attendees and Ron Paul won the online straw poll. 

Run Herman Run.  To donate to Herman's campaign please see sidebar. 

Romney Wins New Hampshire Presidential Straw Poll

The State GOP Conference held a straw poll today for president.   The very odd thing about this poll is that they also elected the party chair who was the Tea Party Candidate.  A very mixed message indeed.  No one in my Tea Party group would back Romney.  Romneycare is going to be a huge hurdle for him to get over.  But, this is going to be good news for Herman Cain who came in second behind by only  1% of the vote.  The next closest was Ron Paul with 11% of the vote. 

With the New Hampshire primary being a year away, this doesn't mean all that much.  But, the fact that Herman Cain got such a large percentage of the vote does bode well that he will be able to raise some money to get his primary bid off the ground. 

Mitt Romney 35%



Ron Paul 11%


Tim Pawlenty 8%


Sarah Palin 7%


Michele Bachmann 5%


Jim DeMint 5%


Herman Cain 34% (I don't know if this number is right, another listing has this at 4% not 34%)


Chris Christie 3%


Rick Santorum 3%


Mitch Daniels 3%


Newt Gingrich 3%


Mike Huckabee 3%


Mike Pence 3%


Rudy Giuliani 2%


Judd Gregg 2%


Gary Johnson 2%


Other 2%


Donald Trump 1%


Haley Barbour 1%


Jon Huntsman 0%


John Thune 0%

Palin Wins Right Nation Straw Poll

The results are in and Gov.Palin has won the straw poll.  The results are as follows:

Sarah Palin – 323 votes (19.1%)

Chris Christie – 274 votes (16.2%)
Newt Gingrich – 227 votes (13.4%)
Herman Cain – 201 votes (11.9%)
Mitt Romney – 190 votes (11.2%)
Mike Huckabee – 156 votes (9.2%)
Ron Paul – 78 votes (4.6%)
Mitch Daniels – 76 votes (4.5%)
Tim Pawlenty – 68 votes (4.0%)
Mike Pence – 45 votes (2.7%)
Rudy Giuliani – 33 votes (1.9%)

Two things that are interesting about these results, it doesn't seem that Mike Pence was even on the ballot, he must have been a write in, and Jeb Bush who was on the ballot and didn't receive any.