Sen. Rand Paul convincingly wins CPAC presidential straw poll
(CNN) - Sen. Rand Paul easily won the presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, giving the potential White House candidate an early boost with the Republican base ahead of the 2016 election.
It was the second-straight year the Kentucky lawmaker topped the poll at the annual gathering, notching 31% support.
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Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas was second with 11%, followed by conservative firebrand Ben Carson.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, never popular with many in the party's conservative base, was fourth with 8% support.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, who for a time gave Mitt Romney a run for his money with conservative voters in the 2012 presidential race, rounded out the top six.
CPAC is the largest annual gathering of conservative leaders and activists and is a must-attend cattle call for GOP presidential hopefuls looking to pass the right-wing litmus test.
Polling indicates no real frontrunner among the potential GOP contenders so far. The next race for the White House officially doesn't get under way until after November's midterm election, and it's fair to say presidential surveys this early are often heavily influenced by name recognition.
Still, the straw poll was a strong sign for some and a troubling one for others.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, who finished second last year - just two points behind Paul at 23% - fell to a disappointing 6%. Texas Governor Rick Perry, who fired up the crowds Friday morning, received only three percent.
Though Cruz was a distant second, his 11% was up 4 points from his showing last year.
Sen. Paul said in a statement that he was grateful for the support, touching on his libertarian themes of individual rights and standing up for the Constitution.
"Thank you and onwards to victory," he said.
Paul, whose libertarian fight in the Senate is often met with a tepid response, spoke before an audience Friday that treated him like a rock star.
The son of former presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, the first-term senator is eager to expand his base and expand the GOP in general.
He's been aggressively trying to broaden the party by talking about the need to include not only libertarians, but even Democrats and minority voters that don't traditionally fall in the GOP column.
But he wasn't trying to hammer home that message on Friday. His remarks were mostly catered to firing up the conservative libertarian crowd.
Paul supporters could be seen at all corners of the conference this week, easily spotted by their "I Stand With Rand" stickers and signs.
With representatives from all 50 states, 2,459 people participated in the straw poll. As is usually the case, it was a very young voting group, with 46% of the voters between 18 and 25 years old, and overwhelmingly male, at 63%.
CNN's Steve Brusk, Conor Finnegan, Ashley Killough and Peter Hamby contributed to this report.
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All hail the Aqua Buddha !!!
yuck
That's awesome.
If Hillary decides to run, he will be easily defeated.
If I remember correctly, the 'Birthers' were screaming about someone being born in a foreign country. Sen. Cruz was born in Canada. Will they support him?
All I can really say is that I am glad Paul beat Cruz, and by a wide margin.
Off course he won the poll, but there is no way he can win an election. There are too many big government Republicans and not enough libertarian leaning Republicans for him even to get nominated, and he has no chance at all with that all important middle 6% that actually decides elections, as they are pretty much all big government swing voters.
Aqua Buddha rises
Rand Paul and Sarah Palin in 2016 Cant lose
It's official. The John Birch Society has swept up the GOP.
Oh Goody! The GOP have started reserving seats for the GOP primary clown car! I hope he's joined by Sarah Palin, Michelle Bauchman and my favorite GOP clown Ted Cruz!
I also Stand with Rand... he's the best we've got. If you're an Independent or a Democrat, discover how Rand Paul supports virtually every social doctrine espoused by your party including women's reproductive rights and an open immigration policy, yet also supports individual rights and a responsible, fiscally sound government. Vote for Rand Paul 2016.
These results show you just how far out of the mainstream of the country the CPAC attendees are.
Stand with Rand
Rand Paul scares the crap out of the left, which is why they ignore him. They want Christie to run for the GOP because they know they can smear him to death during the general election. Rand Paul is untouchable, however; he has no skeletons in the closet.
"Sen. Rand Paul convincingly wins CPAC presidential straw poll"
...reminds America how little CPAC has to do with anything.
Rand Paul? again? Hillary will win easily in 2016, this is why I am a moderate.
I got 6%
What's wrong with the Republican Party do they want to win in the next election? To win, you need a moderate Republican, not idiots who live in a 1900 century bubble world.
31 % is a victory and we have to celebrate it. OMG!!
this means absolutely NOTHING
Another thing I want to bring up. Why does the stage of CPAC looks so eerily similar to the altar of a Scientology Church?
I guess this means that Rand Paul is about to be smeared by the left, including CNN...
Makes sense, Lil Paul is the only one in the GOP the common man will even consider voting for. Still though Lil Paul better get better adjusted to politics considerring he is relatively a nooby and he might have to run against one of the most veteran politicians in the world, Hillary.
Wow. THIS is going to be INTERESTING...
LOL!!! Palin? Cruz? PAUL?!!
The GoP seriously doesn't WANT a conservative in the WH, do they?
Actually, given all the difficulties they left us with last time, neither does America.