Every GOP Straw Poll Seems To Have A Different Winner

It seems that every time there is a straw poll of Republican Party voters, the winner is someone different.  Of course I have warned you in the past to always be wary of straw polls because it is common practice for candidates to buy tickets to these events and flood the event with their supporters.  Thus, the results are often skewed.

But so far it seems that no one can reliably win and mobilize their base from straw poll to straw poll.  Take for example Herman Cain who took the latest one in Florida.  He netted 37% of the vote.  For a man barely breaking 5% in the polls you know that his campaign had a hand in mobilizing his supporters to attend this event, but that still cannot fully explain his huge showing.

Prior to the event I was receiving the usual braggadocios emails from the Ron Paul camp openly telling me how they were flooding the poll to show everyone “how strong Ron Paul is”.  Well, despite what was apparently a huge effort, Mr. Paul only got 10% of the vote and finished 5th.

Rick Perry had a disappointing 15% showing and Mitt Romney, the perennial favorite of the GOP establishment, brought in a scary 14%.  Former Pennsylvania Senator, and quite liberal Republican, Rick Santorum who is trying his damnedest to make everyone think he is a conservative finished with 11%.   Tea Party favorite Michele Bachmann was dead last, finishing even behind the ultra liberal Jon Huntsman.

We can only guess who will win the next round of straw polls.  But it seems the field is certainly wide open.