Palin Wins January Straw Poll; Romney in 2nd

Townhall.com email ^ | 1 February 2011 | Townhall Staff

[Windflier]

After tens of thousands of votes were cast in the January Townhall/HotAir GOP presidential Straw Poll, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin took the victory with 22% of the vote. Coming in 2nd was former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney with just over 14%.

[curth]

He was the Journolist Republican candidate of the week about a month or so ago.

[bicyclerepair]

Dad and I both sent $ to SarahPAC in time for her birthday (2/11).

[9YearLurker]

Five days after the Gipper’s.

[Vendome]

yeah I should probably take my own medicine and make him irrelevant by not talking about him at all.

BTW, he would have beat John McCain but, he wasn’t going to beat Sarah’s dad.

[Minus_The_Bear]

Palin would be wise to cater to Ron Paul voters by mentioning inflation, the Fed, & other liberty issues.

If you notice she may already be doing this.

• Palin is one of the only figures besides Ron Paul to mention run away inflation caused by the Fed's QE2. The media attacked her for it.
• Palin helped to push Rand Paul over the top in the Kentucky Senate race.
• Palin frequently appears on the FOX Business show Freedom Watch and talks about the libertarian foundations of conservatism. (similar to Reagan).

Many, many, conservatives simply stayed home in 2008 and did not vote for McCain. If she can pick up some of these voters Palin WILL win in a landslide.

I think she is building a coalition similar to Reagan's.

[Gargantua]

"pissant will be most unhappy........"

Such is life when you're a pinhead. You think he'll be displeased at this, just wait until she's Madame President Palin.

Oh, the humanities!

B^D

[t-dude]

The thing is..Huckabee, DeMint, and Christie are NOT running.

They have approx. 19% of the total here, but over half of that would naturally go to Governor Palin without them in the race. (Huckabee’s support comes primarily from evangelicals, who also like Sarah very much)- Possibly another 10% to 12% added to her total and it’s a blow out...

Conservative candidates like Cain and Santorum may pick up some of that vote, but I doubt much would go to the RINO wing of Romney, Pawlenty, or Daniels.

Governor Palin is in VERY strong position, and it must be freaking out the establishment.

[onyx]

Sarah Palin will win the nomination and then the White House. Like Rush says, this is the reason for the endless assaults on her. The enemy always attacks the one they fear the most. Sarah Palin is still standing and standing stronger than ever.

I might get my dream ticket after all, Sarah & Michele. Give estrogen a chance.

[LibLieSlayer]

Old willard was on abc this morning stating that he will NEVER apologize for his version of obamacare... praised himself he did... demanded that it has saved healthcare in his old carpet bag State... because he was never from there anyway. He praised obama for his healthcare program... and he proved once again... that he is truly a dim in each and every way... every cell in that pos is a liberal cell... liberal cells that can lie in a heartbeat!

LLS

[JoeFromSidney]

You're going to hear more about Herman Cain. Don't know if he'll make it to the top of the list, but he'll be moving up.

[LibLieSlayer]

He said that he was proud of his record... and he placed his lips upon the kenyan’s backside a time or two. His lies are packaged... but they stand out as... well... lies.

LLS

[magritte]

So the questions is, if Ron Paul doesn’t run, who will his 11% go to ? ... magritte

[LibLieSlayer]

Those two have more testosterone between them than any of the men mentioned! They also both have plenty of estrogen... the beautiful kind... not like helen thomas estrogen! ;-)

LLS

[Windflier]

BTW, he would have beat John McCain but, he wasn’t going to beat Sarah’s dad.

Huh? Romney had a chance to beat McCain in the primary, and failed. Sarah only came along after McCain clinched the nomination.

[magritte]

Romney is going to acquire a large number of those moderate McCain voters that he didn’t get last time during the primary (I doubt many conservatives voted for him)...if Gingrich or Barbour or Huntsman runs, they may split the moderate votes...on the other hand, if Huckabee runs, it splits the conservative vote...magritte

[Windflier]

Many, many, conservatives simply stayed home in 2008 and did not vote for McCain. If she can pick up some of these voters Palin WILL win in a landslide.

I think she is building a coalition similar to Reagan's.

I think you're right. I also think it's totally un-calculated on her part. By that, I mean that she's not intentionally trying to angle in on Paul's constituency. She sees eye to eye with him on some basic conservative issues, like the fed and US monetary policy.

Likewise, she's not trying to horn in on Huck's constituency. It just happens to be hers, as well.

I believe that her appeal is far broader than any other potential candidate's. This is going to translate into greater support and vote totals for her next year.

[Windflier]

Governor Palin is in VERY strong position, and it must be freaking out the establishment.

Fer sure!

I don't think we even need to imagine how they're reacting. Just witness Rove and Krauthammer's reactions to Christine O'Donnell during the midterm elections. Hasn't Kraut also come out lately with some ridiculous pronouncements about Palin?

These guys are the public face of the RINO establishment, and are telegraphing their thoughts about Palin from deep inside the Beltway.

They're just as afraid of her as the Democrats are. They know in their greasy little souls that she's going to demolish the establishment on both sides of the aisle.

[Windflier]

Old willard was on abc this morning stating that he will NEVER apologize for his version of obamacare... praised himself he did...

Excellent! Sarah's supporters can replay that clip endlessly during the 2012 primary to remind the voters that Mitt is the Republican version of Obama.

Thank you, Mitt!

[eaglesiniowa]

Woohoo, Run Sarah Run!!!

[Windflier]

So the questions is, if Ron Paul doesn’t run, who will his 11% go to ?

My guess would be Palin, as she's closer to him on his signature issues than any other candidate.

As far as the 11% Paul garnered in this poll, I think that's a result of a monumental effort on the part of the Paulbots. Doesn't square with his real level of support. I don't think he captured 11% in the 2008 primary.