Ron Paul Tops Straw Poll Trend?
Monday, August 20, 2007 - FreeMarketNews.com
Unnoticed, or at least unreported by the mainstream press, GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-Tex) seems to be doing very well in straw polls – finishing first, second or third and often convincingly beating so-called “top tier” candidates such as Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani..
Sources close to the Ron Paul campaign point to articles about Ron Paul’s performance in recent straw polls but admit that there does not seem to be a single over-arching article summarizing his performance. “If it were a top-tier candidate, there would be trend stories showing the strengthening of his performance and grass-roots support,” points out one source. “But since it’s Ron Paul, they don’t really seem to know what to do. They just keep reporting these disparate results and don’t seem to want to see the pattern that is building up.”
Part of the problem may be that Ron Paul continues to finish very low in national polls, and that his straw poll results and national polls thus continue to be at loggerheads. “It’s a puzzling pattern for any mainstream reporter who’s been taught to trust in national polling, not matter how misleading we know that polling can be,” says this source. “It leads to cognitive dissonance, and that in turn leads to reportorial paralysis.”
This source and others are convinced that the straw poll results and other upcoming electoral events are continuing to solidify Ron Paul’s presence as a substantive candidate. In fact, the recent endorsement of Wisconsin’s Tommy Thompson is due to be followed up later this week by endorsements from two small-government GOP conservatives with “high, national name recognition” according to sources close to the Ron Paul campaign.
“Ron Paul’s small government, anti-foreign-war message is striking home with both Democrats and Republicans,” says one source aware of the upcoming endorsements. “The straw polls show that clearly. They hope for a good result in the Texas straw poll as well.”
Here are some statewide and regional straw polls that FMNN is aware of – in order, from first-place to fifth-place finishes.
FIRST
Alabama: first
http://www.newsandpolicy.com/news/2007/08/news-flash-ron-paul-wins-alabama-straw-poll-by-wid.html
North Carolina: first
http://bhday.wordpress.com/2007/08/14/ron-paul-wins-gaston-county-straw-poll/
New Hampshire Taxpayers: first
http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=45339
New Hampshire: first
http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/Ron_Paul_wins_NH_straw_poll_2
SECOND
National Taxpayers Union: second
http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/06/16/ntu-straw-poll/
South Carolina: second
http://www.usaelectionpolls.com/200...aul-leaders-of-south-carolina-straw-poll.html
THIRD
NFRA (Republican straw poll): third
http://thecitizensjournalblog.blogspot.com/2007/08/fred-thomson-wins-nfra-straw-poll.html
Illinois: third
http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=47471
Indiana: tied for third
http://www.blogsforfredthompson.com/fred-thompson-ties-victory-indiana-straw-poll
FIFTH
Iowa: fifth
http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=47146
