Washington (CNN) - The results of the Washington Times CPAC straw poll of presidential candidates are in, and the winner is Texas Rep. Ron Paul, with 30 percent of the vote. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was the runner-up with 23 percent.
There were 3,742 ballots cast in the annual survey, which is a chance for devotees to name their pick for president in 2012. Fifty-six percent of those surveyed said they were generally satisfied with the field of potential candidates and 43 percent said they wished the GOP had a better field of potential candidates. For those surveyed, the size of the federal government was the most important issue to them.
CPAC is an annual gathering of conservatives, which this year served as the first cattle-call of potential 2012 Republican presidential candidates.
The full results:
Texas Rep. Ron Paul: 30 percent
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney: 23 percent
Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson: 6 percent
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie: 6 percent
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich: 5 percent
Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty: 4 percent
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann: 4 percent
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels: 4 percent
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin: 3 percent
Former talk show host Herman Cain: 2 percent
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee: 2 percent
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum: 2 percent
South Dakota Sen. John Thune: 2 percent
U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman: 1 percent
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour: 1 percent
Others: 5 percent
Undecided: 1 percent
So now we are waiting for President Ron Paul.. I thought Ron Paul is the drag queen – that black guy that changed his sex to that of a girl.. or is Ron Paul his dad?
Drum roll please...now all the negative attacks to continue from all the arm chair quarterbacks and the know-it-alls who do nothing but criticizes politicians. Please run for office to know how it feels when you are treated the way you have dished it out. Got it?
Nothing to see here....move along
I like to see him get it, but he can't win against Obama. He doesn't have the pizzazz to attaract the younger vote.
hail ron paul we need more of his kind
Good luck with that Conservatives/Republicans. A total idiot (besides Palin) is leading your chances....LMAO
Could have been worse – they could have chosen Ron Paul's idiot son. Or Sarah Palin. Or Rick "The Fetus Fondler" Santorum. Or pretty much anyone else on that list.
This makes it what... twice now that CPAC has picked Ron Paul? I realize he may not be everybody's choice as the ideal candidate, but he's someone who is pro-Federalist government, pro-small government, and is one of the very few politicians (and probably one of the few in D.C. period) who actually are competent in matters of economic theory and applied economic practice. C'mon, folks, that's gotta count for *something*...
Ron Paul is the only republican I would vote for in 2012. Unlike many of the fake conservatives who ran last fall Paul is the real deal, and will do what's best for this country. He looks out for the American people instead of just the corporations, and will make the hard choices that need to be made for the country to get back on the right track. He is for limiting the government, and restoring our constitutional rights that have been trampled by politicians in recent years. And most of all he is against wars, and was one of the handful of republicans who voted AGAINST the wars in the Middle East. Ron Paul for President 2012!!!
It is really nice that Ron Paul again won the "Ugliest Republican Dog Beauty Pagent". Wll deserved.
This is funnier than all hell! They pick a Nut Job like Ron Paul, maybe he can choose his Tea-bagger son from Kentucky and then these two Racists can run on a Paul/Paul ticket? President Obama's Re-election chances brighten with each passing day!!! I knew those Tea-party Loon's were good for something in the end!!!!
I would be happy to vote Ron Paul in 2012
LOL so funny how when i looked at sarah palin's name it says former alaska government. Are you serious? It should say Former Quitter.
It's somewhat rewarding to see Mitch Daniels so far down, but, as a Hoosier, I wish even fewer people would give him undeserved credit.
Yeah, we can win all the polls he likes. The media will censor him and give him only 1% of the media coverage pie as they did in 2007 and 2008. Ron Paul should be President of the United States now. Any Republican that voted for any other candidate in 2007 should be ashamed of themselves. Ron Paul is exactly what this country needs.
ha ha ha nobody!
What a bunch of morons! No compitition! OBAMA 2012!
Ron Paul always looks great because he has such an active base. But there is now way the signal callers in the GOP will support him.
can anyone smell marshall law cooking?
Michele Bachmann should not run for President. She has publicly distorted American history. She called our current President "anti-American," but denied saying it when questioned. How can we trust her? She is dishonest. She should not be allowed in Congress. She certainly does not deserve the Presidency.
That's like being the tallest midget at the dwarf convention.
Ron Paul is the only republican that may be worth something.
Ron Paul will/would be one of the most significant Presidents of the United States ever, if it happens...
Ron Paul is the most pragmatic and sensible conservative out there. Although he is getting old, I would vote for him over any of his competition, and over the Obamabots as well. This may sound odd to some, but a joint presidential ticket of Paul and Kucinich would be more than welcome.... a mix of constitutional libertarian conservativism with progressivism... combined with smaller, less intrusive and more efficient government. The left vs right paradigm is archaic and doesnt map onto todays society... we need a combination of the best of both camps, and empower the people to get the USA back to #1.
There is yet hope – the best choice among the lot, "Others" beat out Michele Bachmann by a full percent!
Others for President!