Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
WASHINGTON (CNN)– Former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Massachusetts, won the FRCAction straw poll.
The announcement came Saturday during the Values Voter Summit. Romney garnered 1,595 votes and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee coming in a close second with 1,565 votes. A total of 5,775 votes were cast online, by mail, and at the event.
Only members of the political arm of the Family Research Council could vote. During the voting period, the organization saw an increase in membership from approximately 5,000 members to approximately 8,500 according to Tony Perkins, President of FRCAction.
When the announcement was made, there appeared to be loud audience support for Huckabee and less audience support for Romney.
The number of people who voted in person at the conference was far less than the number who voted online or by mail. Huckabee was the clear winner of the in person votes with 488 of the 952 votes. Romney received only 99 in person, on site votes.
The top four finishers were Mitt Romney with 1,595 total votes, Mike Huckabee with total 1,565 votes, Ron Paul with 865 total votes, and Fred Thompson with 564 total votes.
Related: Romney wins straw poll at Values Voters Summit
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– CNN Producer Xuan Thai
From CNN Politics
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That's the onsite + online poll, hence skewed by the RP crowd.... Actual numbers onsite:
Onsite Straw Poll Results
Mike Huckabee 488 51.26%
Mitt Romney 99 10.40%
Fred Thompson 77 8.09%
Tom Tancredo 65 6.83%%
Rudy Giuliani 60 6.30%
Duncan Hunter 54 5.67%
John McCain 30 3.15%
Sam Brownback 26 2.73%
Ron Paul 25 2.63%
Undecided 11 1.16%
Not Voting 7 0.74%
Barack Obama 5 0.53%
Chris Dodd 2 0.21%
DennisKucinich 2 0.11%
Joe Biden 1 0.11%
Total 952 100%
So, of those who actually were there, 51% voted for Mike Huckabee, five times as much as any other candidate.
Straw polls mean absolutely NOTHING. It is just the same as a straw boss.
Romney only received 99 votes from the Washington Briefing itself. He clearly bought this straw poll by sending massive email blasts to his lists to have them vote online. Mike Huckabee is the real winner. Tied with Romney overall. 51% of the on-location votes.
Is the fact that Romney won...although barely...going to be skewed by supporters of Romney? Everyone looking over the fact that out of the people who actually attended this event and heard every speaker, voted 50+ % in favor of Huckabee
Huckabee was the true winner of this poll.
Overall Straw Poll Results
Mitt Romney 1595 27.62%
Mike Huckabee 1565 27.15%
Ron Paul 865 14.98%
Fred Thompson 564 9.77%
http://www.frcaction.org/
Although Romney won the overall (online and onsite) straw poll by less than half a percentage point (30 votes), it must be taken into consideration that Romney sent email blasts to his supporters urging them to vote in the online straw poll. Romney got 1496 votes online through official campaign pleas, while Huckabee got 1077 online votes through the enthusiastic grassroots efforts of his supporters and bloggers.
Take the onsite straw poll results, where Huckabee won by a margin of over 40%:
Onsite Straw Poll Results
Mike Huckabee 488 51.26%
Mitt Romney 99 10.40%
Fred Thompson 77 8.09%
http://www.frcaction.org/
The results of this straw poll is certainly bad news for Fred Thompson. Ron Paul supporters also flooded the online voting, helping Paul into 3rd place in the overall poll, although he got less than 3% of the onsite vote, placing 9th, behind all the other Republican candidates (including Brownback)!
Mike Huckabee deserves more credit for winning by a landslide among the conservatives who acutally got to hear him speak today.
Romney could only muster 1595 online votes given his large (and expensive) campaigning? He really needs to try another angle. The on-site poll proves that Huckabee is the true conservative of the pack.
CNN with the nice spin headline. Romney is pathetic. without his money he's nothing. The leaders that are now jumping on his bandwagon, well now we know what they're all about.
Mike Huckabee was the clear winner!!!
Stay out of my womb!!!!
A mormon America? Now, that's scary! Our finding fathers would be outrage, embarrassed and disappointed.
opps wrong ticker...sorry
I read some about those Mormons and I don't know a single person who would want a man like that leading our country. People have to pull away from all these religious freaks and elect a leader who will not mix religion with politics. We do not need to be told about family values or that some people are pro-life. We can all think for ourselves and decide for ourselves.
Tancredo got more than Guiliani???!!!
Bwhahahahahahaaa
These same Christian Taliban were the dolts who overwhelmingly voted for George 'Historical Failure' Bush.
These irrelevent toads do not pause to realize it is THEIR OWN judgement that is retarded. These Christian Taliban are soooooooooooooooooo irrelevent.
You see there is a price to pay when you make a deal with the devil. Do not go away mad Dominionists......just go away.
Good find, Randy! I was surprised when I read the headline that Mitt won when Rudy received so much applause for his dig at Romney's flip-flopping. Clearly the on-site poll is the only one that matters. If the online polls had any real truth, Ron Paul would be the nominee and we all know that won't happen.
Props to Rudy too for finishing fifth. He was supposed to come in last according to all the pundits. Go Rudy!
Romney is a worst flip flopper than John Kerry. Huckabee is the man and he clearly would make a better nominee than anyone of those other clowns.
What do fanatical christian fundamentalists and old useless buildings have in common? Their implosion is always entertaining.
Congrats to Huckabee for getting 51% of the on-site vote! Romney came in second with 10%. Also Romney received 0 votes at the first Values Voter debate held in Fort Lauderdale a few weeks back. And that was on-site voting only. So who's the really winner here? I think it's pretty clear...
Huckabee '08!
Did the straw poll voters know that Huckabee is just another open border Republican?
This confirms that the Religious Right has been coalescing around Romney, making him the conservative support!
What "Your Conscience" fails to realize is that the Christians who would attend such an event as this wouldn't support Mr. Guiliani in the first place. It is not the Christian base, but the MSM, that is pole-vaulting Guiliani to his standing. I would never in Good Conscience be able to vote for RG.
That said, this is the 2nd Christian based event where Huckabee won with a CLEAR majority. Granted, Romney didn't bother to attend that one (he must have thought it irrelevant) but then he probably faired as well in the polling of the one he didn't attend as the one he DID attend.
Praise God! for once again revealing to us His choice for President. I can't even worry anymore, because I see God's hand working so mightily in this election. It's just so exciting to watch Him work!!!
Come on, Xuan. What's with the totally misleading headline? Romney and Huckabee both had 27 percent of the total — and among those whose votes were actually in play (rather than being recruited through email blasts to supporters by Romney), Huckabee was the resounding winner.
How can pro-life for here and being for an unjust war there, which kills thousands be capatable?
Is this really a Christian crowd?
Seems phony to me.
they deserve each other
>>>Tancredo got more than Guiliani???!!!
Good catch YC!
Just goes to show that when it comes to extremism, Rudy-style fascism is not enough for these crazies. Quite a statement. They really are the American Taliban.
The fact that somebody who is running to be the most powerful person in the world has to cater to this bunch of simple-minded, prejudiced fools just to win their own party's nomination shows the poor state of our country!
These people always think they know what's best for you and wish to enforce it upon you.