Straw Poll Blog

Hillary Clinton and Ron Paul winning big on AOL straw poll

An AOL straw poll that is supposed to be spam proof shows both Hillary Clinton and Ron Paul winning their respective primaries. The poll records national as well as state-by-state results. At the time of this report over 57,000 Republicans and 56,000 Democrats have voted in the poll.

On the Democratic side the results somewhat mirrored media generated polls. Nationally Clinton has 46%, Barack Obama 27%, John Edwards 17%, Biden 4%, Kucinich 3%, Richardson 2%, Gravel 1%, and Dodd 1%.

Clinton leads in most states but Obama leads in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, and Wyoming.

In Iowa the race is tight where Obama leads with 31% followed by Clinton with 30%and Edwards with 24%. 
In New Hampshire, Clinton has 46%, Obama 26%, and Edwards has 15%.

On the Republican side the results mirrored media generated polls with one exception. Ron Paul is placing first in most states and second in several others.

The results of the other candidates did mirror media generated polls. Giuliani is winning in New York and New Jersey and Connecticut but is being edged out by Paul in Florida and New Mexico. Florida and New Mexico have changed hands several times between Giuliani and Paul.

Romney is winning Utah, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

Read full story [USA Daily]

Rep. Ron Paul strikes a chord

Let us concede at the start that Ron Paul is not likely to be elected president. He neither looks nor sounds particularly presidential. He has a tendency to wander away from his central message to discuss esoterica such as the gold standard. He lacks a professional campaign organization. He is an anti-war candidate in a pro-war party. And his campaign has attracted more than its share of conspiracy theorists and other fringe elements.

Yet it is undeniable that Paul has struck a chord with a large segment of disaffected Republicans. His fundraising over the last few weeks has been phenomenal. Paul announced Sunday that he expects to raise more than $12 million this quarter and possibly as much as $15 million. He's already set a record for the most money raised on a single day ($4.2 million) and has vaulted into third place for cash on hand among the candidates ($2.4 million before his most recent successes).

Little more than an asterisk in polls just a couple of months ago, Paul is running a respectable fourth in New Hampshire and closing in on double digits in other key states. As he spends some of the millions he recently has raised, that can only be expected to rise.

Where's the appeal?

Some of Paul's appeal undoubtedly stems from his opposition to the war in Iraq. Polls show that as many as a third of Republicans oppose the war, and many others are deeply troubled by the seemingly endless conflict. With all the other Republicans trying to outdo one another at being the most belligerent-toward Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and the world in general -- Rep. Paul stands out. If you want to register opposition to the Bush foreign policy, but aren't willing to support the Democrats' version of tax and spend government, Ron Paul is the perfect vehicle.

Read full story [postbulletin.com]

Obama wins Kansas straw poll

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama won the Kansas Democratic Party email straw poll, party officials announced today.

Obama tallied 692 votes out of 1,904 votes cast for 36.3 percent. The poll was held this week and ended last night.

Second place went to U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton with 504 votes, or 26.5 percent. Former senator John Edwards had 355 votes or 18.6 percent.

Read full story [The Lawrence Journal-World]

Obama wins in straw poll

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama narrowly defeated John Edwards in a straw poll held last night at Towson University.

The event, sponsored by the Towson University College Democrats and the Central Baltimore County Democratic Club, attracted about 120 people, of which 95 cast ballots, said Scott Sokol, vice president of the Baltimore County club.

Obama, a senator from Illinois, received 29 percent. Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina, came in second with 27 percent. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York trailed with 16 percent. Four other candidates split the remaining votes.

Ron Paul Wins Straw Poll, Surpasses Fundraising of Both Giuliani and Romney

Ron Paul won the annual Virginia GOP retreat straw poll by collecting 38% of the votes. Fred Thompson managed to collect 23% while Mike Huckabee, who was represented by his wife, finished a distant third with 11%.

Virginia GOP Retreat Straw Poll Results were: Ron Paul 182 (38%), Fred Thompson 112 (23%), Mike Huckabee 51 (11%), Rudy Guiliani 45 (9%), Mitt Romney 43 (9%), John McCain 23 (5%), Duncan Hunter 19 (4%), Tom Tancredo 4 (<1%)

Several long-time Republican leaders including conservative icon Morton Blackwell complemented the Paul campaign on their strong organization and mobilization efforts, according to Ron Paul National Field Director Dennis Fusaro, who spoke on Dr. Paul’s behalf at the event. Fusaro went on to say that, while this reflects the organizational strength of the Paul campaign around the country, it is essential that Virginia Ron Paul Republicans replicate this turn-out on a county-by-county basis at next year’s mass meetings.  Fusaro went on to congratulation the grassroots for, once again, coming out to support Dr. Paul in an unprecedented manner.

Read full story [News Long Island]