GOPe strikes back; Kills Iowa straw poll...

I guess they didn't like who was going to be the winner...

JUST IN: The Iowa Straw Poll is dead By unanimous vote, the Iowa GOP board just voted to kill it. #iacaucus

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) June 12, 2015

Guess who won the Values Voter Summit presidential straw poll

It was Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

Via Breitbart:

For the second year in a row, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) won the Values Voter Summit presidential straw poll.
After electrifying the audience on Friday by urging them to never abandon conservative values to see another morning in America, Cruz, the potential 2016 presidential contender, received 25% of the vote while Dr. Ben Carson was second with 20%. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was third with 12% of the vote.
In the vice presidential straw poll, Carson was first with 22% of the vote. Cruz was second with 14%. And Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who may run as the ideas candidate to possibly get on the ticket a la John Edwards in the 2004 Democratic presidential primary, was third with 11%.
As The Hill noted, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), the libertarian-leaning candidate potential presidential candidate, was “the notable absence from the winners’ list.” Paul received a lukewarm reception on Friday.
Keep on reading…

Sen. Rand Paul sweeps Maine GOP straw poll...

Rise of the Aqua Buddha... 

Via Breitbart:

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) easily swept a straw poll of 2016 GOP contenders at the Maine GOP convention this weekend, securing nearly a hundred votes more than the next best potential presidential candidate.
Paul topped the field with 176 votes out of 690 cast, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) finishing second with 98 votes. Wisconsin GOP Gov. Scott Walker rounded out the top three vote-getters in the straw poll with 70 votes, while Dr. Ben Carson placed fourth with 62 votes.
Establishment Republicans like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) couldn’t even break the top four in the Maine GOP straw poll. Christie placed fifth with 60 votes, Bush sixth with 57 votes, and Ryan seventh with 37. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) all received fewer than 30 votes.

The Tea Party is a force to be reckoned with in the GOP primary system.

Ted Cruz easily wins Full Values Voter straw poll

Full Values Voter straw poll results, with @SenTedCruz clear winner pic.twitter.com/aVjTVfZz9i
— Mike Memoli (@mikememoli) October 12, 2013

Interesting: Rand Paul stomps Chris Christie in 2016 Mackinac Presidential Straw Poll...

If Cris Christie wants to challenge Hillary in 2016, he should do it as a democrat...

Via Daily Caller:

Sen. Rand Paul decisively won a straw poll held over the weekend in Michigan at a bi-annual gathering of Republicans, earning more than double the votes of rival New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Paul, the libertarian-leaning Republican from Kentucky, won 188 votes, or 36 percent, in the 2016 Mackinac Presidential Straw Poll. Christie came in at second with 82 votes, or 16 percent, in the poll.
“It’s always exciting to place first in anything,” Paul told The Daily Caller in a phone interview Sunday morning from Mackinac Island after the results were announced.
He noted that the Island is “overrun with limited government, small government conservatives.”
“Not too many liberals on the Island this week,” Paul said with a laugh.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush came in with 42 votes, while Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker got 39 votes. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz trailed behind at 36 votes. Of those at the conference, 526 voted.
Keep on reading…

Shocker: Mitt Romney wins the Washington Times/CPAC Presidential Straw Poll

Unexpected support for Romney from Conservatives...

(Washington Times) — Mitt Romney won The Washington Times/CPAC Presidential Straw Poll on Saturday, and also nipped Rick Santorum as the top choice of conservatives nationwide, according to a new version of the poll conducted for the first time this year that suggests Mr. Romney retains strong support among self-identified conservatives.

Mr. Romney won 38 percent of the straw poll, which counted the votes of 3,408 activists gathered for the Conservative Political Action Conference, which ran from Thursday through Saturday at a hotel in Washington.

Mr. Santorum was second with 31 percent, Newt Gingrich was third with 15 percent and Rep. Ron Paul was fourth with 12 percent — far below his showing the last two years, when he won with 31 in 2010 and 30 percent in 2011.

In the national survey, meanwhile, Mr. Romney barely topped Mr. Santorum 27 percent to 25 percent, with Mr. Gingrich in third place at 20 percent and Mr. Paul again trailing at 8 percent.

Mitt Romney Wins Michigan Straw poll

This is Perry's second straw poll defeat in as many days. If this trend continues, look for Sarah Palin or Gov. Chris Christie to enter the race.

(Hotline On Call )- In a rout, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney trounced Rick Perry and the rest of the GOP field to win the National Journal Hotline/National Association of Home Builders Straw Poll of GOP activists attending a weekend conference in Michigan.

Romney received 51 percent of the 681 votes cast, a whopping 34-percentage point victory over second-place Perry, who garnered 17 percent. It was the second straight defeat for Perry in a straw poll, after he finished second in another contest Saturday in Florida. The twin disappointments, along with weak debate performances, have raised questions about whether the Texas governor will remain the perceived front-runner in the GOP nomination fight.

Romney grew up in suburban Detroit and in the Michigan governor’s mansion; his father, George Romney, served as the state’s chief executive from 1963 to 1969. Michigan is likely to hold its presidential nomination contest on Feb. 28, a week before Super Tuesday. It is also an important state in the general election contest.

Both Romney and Perry addressed the conference Saturday, and while Perry took subtle digs at his GOP rival, Romney denounced President Obama’s economic leadership. “I just don’t think he’s equipped for what’s happening,” the former Massachusetts governor said.