Top GOP Contenders Start By Losing Straw Polls
NRSC recruits may well sweep their primaries this spring and summer, but some of them are faltering with the base in straw polls now.
And it's not just ex-FL House Speaker Marco Rubio (R) who's racked up an impressive string of victories in the early ballot tests over his party-backed rival; NV ex-GOP chairwoman Sue Lowden (R) and CO ex-LG Jane Norton (R) have both had difficulties of their own.
Norton, a favorite of party operatives in D.C., has found herself with less support than Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, state Sen. Tom Wiens or businessman Cleve Tidwell in 6 straw polls. Buck won 50% of the votes cast at a Colorado Springs candidate forum Tuesday, while Norton took 32%.
Lowden is in a 10-way field for the GOP nod to take on Sen. Harry Reid (R), where her top competitors for the nomination are businessman Danny Tarkanian and investment banker John Chachas.
Nevertheless, it has been ex-Assemb. Sharron Angle (R) who has had early luck at GOP straw polls. She won the Clark Co. GOP straw poll, though Lowden and Tarkanian finished close behind. And Angle placed ahead of Lowden in the Washoe Co. and Storey Co. straw polls and finished second in the Carson City straw poll behind state Sen. Mark Amodei (R), who has since withdrawn from the race.
Straw polls don't necessarily portend electoral victories, but they do give a glimpse into momentum, and in some cases, institutional strength and support. Although ex-MA Gov. Mitt Romney ultimately lost the GOP nomination in '08, his straw poll showings were a sign of organizational heft that spooked the rest of the field.
Rubio has had the most success so far, winning 25 straw poll victories over FL Gov. Charlie Crist (R). In those cases, those wins helped him blossom into a national conservative hero who has arguably become the front-runner in the race to replace appointed Sen. George LeMieux (R).
Virtually no GOP-favored candidate is safe. Ex-Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN), the party favorite to reclaim his old seat, and ex-HP CEO Carly Fiorina (R), the NRSC's preferred contender in CA, have each lost a straw poll apiece.
No surprise in the Senatorial race. This makes the fourth straight straw poll Ken Buck has come out on top. The mass media is portraying Jane Norton as the front runner due to her being hand picked by John McCain. The only problem with that is John McCain is not an endorsement one would want in Colorado. He pulled only 18 percent of the vote in the Presidential primary.
@colawman yeah I bet she is really thinking twice about that endorsement now. Doesn't help herself by making mis-statements either.
Very interesting, I pray each day and hope that Ken Buck makes it to the finish line. He is the People's candidate for he truly cares about his State and Nation not other entities that wish to profit on the people and tax money for never ending wars.
Ken Buck is the people's choice for US Senate in Colorado. The GOP machine is doing everything they can to convince us otherwise and it's not working! I cannot wait until caucus on Tuesday. The straw poll of all straw polls will be conducted that night and Jane is going to be eating Ken's dust! Not to mention that the delegates to the state assembly will be filled with Ken supporters to seal the deal!
If you are a registered Republican and you support Ken, GET TO YOUR CAUCUS! This is the starting line - everything happens from here! GO KEN!!
AHAHAHAHAHA!!! God, you're all silly. Straw polls only poll the hyper active, not all of the base let alone all of the party in the state.
Jane will sweep it when it matters, at the primary. Buck is no different then Wiens or Tidwell - except he has raised LESS money and has no ability to win independent voters. And that's why he won this straw poll.
It'll be interesting to see what happens when the illegal coordination between Buck and CFL become public... Will you all continue to support him?
Even though all of the money for BOTH groups comes from the same company?