Ballantine Easily Wins GOPUSA Poll for Governor

Raleigh, NC. Today, results were released showing Patrick Ballantine easily winning a recent GOPUSA on-line poll of the 2004 race for Governor. Ballantine received 49.4% of votes in the poll. The results can be viewed seen here.

"I'm very proud of the support my campaign has received this early in the race. This shows that the hard work we re putting in by traveling the state and meeting with voters is paying off, and I hope that we'll see this same result in the GOP Primary next May," Ballantine said.

In an interesting twist, GOPUSA North Carolina Editor Robynn Rutledge issued a memo noting that someone had tried to obstruct the results of the poll by voting numerous times. Fortunately, this did not impact the real poll. Her memo can be seen here.

"What bothers me most isn't that someone took the effort to spoil the fun of the online poll. It's what such effort states about someone seeking to be the next governor of N.C.," Rutledge said. "If they (or their supporters) are so eager to look good in a simple poll that they would find ways to cheat the barriers to duplicate voting, what are they willing to do if elected and are working on something that actually matters more than an online opinion poll?"

Poll results showing the duplicative voting by certain candidates and their supporters can be seen by clicking here

Sure it's just an online poll. Read the 'memo' from the pollster. From what I understand, all Ballantine's people did was go to the effort to let people know that a poll was out there.

That seems like a better way to spend precious campaign energy than to cycle through deleting cookies and history and clicking through time after time after time.

Oh, Jern. That's an unkind cut, even if someone I knew had written the danged thing. Surely, it can't qualify as the dumbest article ever. I thought it was merely 'interesting,' just like the author said. Makes me wonder if having a spotlight shown on someone who supports Little slamming an online poll hurts somebody's feelings a little.

By the way, just another glance at the piece seems to show that, if it really was just one enthusiastic Little supporter buring the midnight oil to show their support for their candidate, they had to be truely tireless.

Almost 8,000 iterations?

It might be valuable as an object lesson for anyone, including the well-meaning, that IP addresses are not invisible.

All that energy...wouldn't it have been better spent at actual Grass Roots Activism?

And, a glance at the skewed poll, before the duped IP addresses were sorted out, shows at the very least that Ballantine didn't use the same methods to motivate people to take the time to cast their votes.

And, yes, once again, it is just an online poll, but considering the cost of seats at this weekend's NCGOP Hall of Fame Dinner, it surely has more 'science' to it than that Fat Cat Straw Poll they plan to hold. No doubt you'll remember that it was Leo Daughtry who won that over Vinroot four years ago. Didn't reflect actual support any more than this online poll.

It's just interesting.

But the dumbest article ever?

You've been around the FR long enough to see some REAL boners. This can't even make the tom one-hundred.

That's "interesting."

Reminds me of the old controversy between the Skipper and the Professor, mediated by Gilligan.

The Skipper makes his point, to which Gilligan says, 'you're right.'

The Professor makes HIS point, to which Gilligan agrees, saying, 'Professor, you're right.'

Skipper yells, 'Gilligan, we can't BOTH be right!'

'You're right,' Gilligan says.

(Engage laugh track)

Respectfully, as always.

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