Romney wins, Perry strong write-in at Ohio GOP straw poll

Politico ^ | July 22, 2011 | Maggie Haberman

[Cincinatus' Wife]

An Ohio Republican Party official sent over results from the party's presidential straw poll in a proving-ground swing state, which showed Mitt Romney the clear winner.

Romney, who made the Ames Straw Poll his Holy Grail in 2007 but is bypassing Ames, Florida's Presidency V and all other such contests this cycle, won handily with 25 percent.

Tim Pawlenty, who is fighting his own war for Ames, scored second place, with 16 percent.

But Pawlenty was bunched with the third- and fourth-place finishers, Michele Bachmann (15 percent) candidate Rick Perry (14 percent).

Perry is especially noteworthy, since he has yet to pull the trigger on a campaign, and was a write-in on the ballot, according to party officials.

Ron Paul was fifth, with 9 percent, Herman Cain and Rick Santorum tied at 5 percent, Newt Gingrich got 3 percent and Jon Huntsman, of the named candidates, finished last, at 2 percent.

All other non-Perry write-ins got a total of 6 percent of the 264 ballots cast.

[jimnm]

No one wrote her in...

She’s popular among primary voters so sure it’s strange and these straw polls are really just a candidate pays for media exposure exercise but Sarah is genuinely unpopular with some segments...such as those outside of primaries in the general election. The msm treatment of her has been very unfair but also effective, she has high unpopularity ratings outside the base.

The current primary field is very weak. I’d like to see Sarah and Perry formally enter to make it more exciting. They’re really the only two people I’m interested in at this point and there’s no way I’m voting for Romney. Perry with his gardasil, TTC, and generally moderate ways isn’t great, but Romney is a full blown liberal on social issues and isn’t even trying to hide it. He also was a dud in the last election and we don’t need another mccain who was also a primary loser.

[Dr. Sivana]

It was the annual dinner for the state GOP, so one would expect folks from all over the state to atttend regardless of where it was held.

Ohio is a fairly large state. It takes four hours to drive from end to end. In such states, even statewide events tend to draw more heavily from the area near the site. It wouldn't have killed them to provide a name and location for the event.

[mac_truck]

Good lord...Ohio is NOT a large state...and it wouldn’t kill you to look up the location of the Ohio GOP annual dinner yourself either.

[LS]

Geez people. There were WRITE INs. Anyone could have written in Palin. I'm in Ohio and I keep trying to tell the Palinistas that there is not a big Palin sentiment there. I have seen no organization whatsoever, and no presence at Tea Party or other events that I speak at.

Now, I'm getting impatient, as for a year I've been trying to tell people here that a candidate has to have an organization on the ground, and a "social network" "unorthodox" campaign---which is what they all think she's running---won't work because ultimately you have to have phone banks and walkers and precinct chiefs and and and. Palin has none of that in OH. I can't speak for other states.

So out of the blue someone would expect her to magically show up as a write-in? Doesn't work that way. Outside of George Washington, no American has ever been elected by acclimation. Everyone else has had to actually CAMPAIGN.

[deport]

About 600 people attended the Ohio GOP’s annual state dinner, held at the Renaissance hotel in downtown Cleveland.

[Dr. Sivana]

Good lord...Ohio is NOT a large state...and it wouldn’t kill you to look up the location of the Ohio GOP annual dinner yourself either.

A casual reader going through scores of articles should not have to look up the location of something as basic as location. I didn't write the article. The guy covering it should name the location ... standard journalism practice.

Ohio may not be Texas large or Alaska large, but the fact remains that an event in Cleveland (where the event was held. You didn't bother to look up the location either) will draw fewer people from the more conservative Cincinnati area. I also suspect that large distances seem smaller to a truck driver than the population at large.

[Dr. Sivana]

About 600 people attended the Ohio GOP’s annual state dinner, held at the Renaissance hotel in downtown Cleveland.

R=Thanks. You left out two important pieces of info that the writer of the article omitted for no good reason. I don't know why only half the people vote in these straw pols. It may be a substitution for undecided/uncommitted.

[Dr. Sivana]

oops.

I meant to say you included ... NOT you left out. Sorry.

[mylife]

I am shocked that the poser Myth, doesn’t have his shirt sleeves rolled up.

You can make a donation by calling BR 549 Yeehaw!

[mac_truck]

Ohio may not be Texas large or Alaska large, but the fact remains that an event in Cleveland...will draw fewer people from the more conservative Cincinnati area. I also suspect that large distances seem smaller to a truck driver than the population at large.

Did you know...Cleavland is 142 miles away from Cincinnati and its $140 round trip by air?

Anyone daunted by traveling that amount of distance (on an expense tab no less) shouldn't be allowed to participate in the voting.

[Dr. Sivana]

Did you know...Cleavland is 142 miles away from Cincinnati and its $140 round trip by air?

Cleveland is 249 miles away by auto, 217 miles by air. I drive from Illinois to Connecticut regularly. Ohio is the second biggest segment of the drive (after miserable PA). Don't assume that the local party pays the way for all of these folks. The article sure doesn't make that case.

The fact remains. At these sorts of functions, people who are close to the site are more likely to go than people who are farther away.

Google Maps shows Cleveland is 249 miles away from Cincinnati

air distance 217

One more time... at these kinds of events, the local area tends to have greater representation than the distant (and in this case, more conservative) area. Taking a flight or spending a night in a hotel or driving 240 miles each way for a dinner is not a trivial thing for people with family commitments or difficult work schedules. I guess it's okay for party poobahs, who are over-represented as it is.

[hosepipe]

[ Obama v. Romney will see Obama re-elected. ]

Good point...

[HiTech RedNeck]

OK, so Mitt stands on a straw platform to win straw voters, I suppose. Mitt is no cowboy — he couldn’t even polish Herman Cain’s spurs.

[HiTech RedNeck]

If Mitt puts out the effort, and isn’t an overboiled noodle like John McCain was (with his suggestions that the candidate didn’t even matter) — a slim majority of American people will probably hold their noses and vote Mitt. It will be a Jimmy Carter like squeaker and an embarrassment to the GOP.

[hosepipe]

Myth Romney is new John McLame..
With Romney running Obama may WIN!!!.

[OneLoyalAmerican]

Greetings Dr. Sivana, Cincinatus’ Wife, mac_truck, and LS:

Just as LS notes, this poll is a statement of organization; even if a dubious organization. Time and place is important too. Cleveland is not as much of a lifestyle difference from Ohio as Chicago is from downstate Illinois; so this early Romney straw poll lead is important.

In Lawrence County, Myth Romney is passionately disliked by GOP conservatives; probably disliked by Cuyahoga County conservatives too. Given this attitude, why does Romney win any Ohio straw poll?

From what I’ve heard, the Romney organization is very generous when it comes to picking up dinner tabs. So in my assessment, freebie dinners bring out the Mitty kiddie ballot box stuffers; making them about as common at straw poll gatherings as Ronpaul loons. Which in effect, signals our State GOP which candidate is best organized candidate.

It is time for conservatives to get active at our Township and County GOP gatherings, otherwise we only have ourselves to blame when RINOs hijack the nominating process from under our noses.

Cheers,
OLA

[OneLoyalAmerican]

Ohio ping

[Las Vegas Dave]

OneLoyalAmerican, worth repeating ping!

OHIO PINGS!

It is time for conservatives to get active at our Township and County GOP gatherings, otherwise we only have ourselves to blame when RINOs hijack the nominating process from under our noses.

[RockinRight]

Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, how we worship thee.

[mac_truck]

Cleveland is not as much of a lifestyle difference from Ohio as Chicago is from downstate Illinois; so this early Romney straw poll lead is important.

The importance of this poll (imo) is that it shows the strength of the undeclared Rick Perry in a strategically important battleground state, and this business about Cleveland being to far away for some folks to get to is just silly.