SAINT CHARLES, MO — U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas won a presidential preference straw poll conducted by the Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) this weekend at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Missouri.
Cruz topped a long list of potential Republican candidates with 38 percent of the first place votes, just edging Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who finished second with 35 percent.
“The American people, and especially Conservatives, are starving for leadership,” said Matt Nye, Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus. “Both Senators Cruz and Paul have proven they will speak truth to power – that they are willing to stand up for the American people against an out-of-control White House administration.”
The straw poll conducted by the RLC is a non-scientific measure of preference. Attendance was estimated at 1,000 conservatives from across the Midwest, with almost 200 casting ballots for their first, second and third preferences.
Cruz’s victory comes on the heels of his historic 21 hour filibuster-like speech in opposition of Obamacare. Likewise, Senator Rand Paul won a straw poll conducted at the 2013 RLC National Biennial Convention in May after his filibuster on the use of drones on American soil a couple of months earlier.
“Of note in our poll is that the two most identifiable liberty candidates – Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul – pulled a combined 73% of the vote at a CPAC event,” Nye said. “President Reagan said he believed ‘the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism’, and I think this type of result at CPAC speaks to that sentiment.”
Rick Santorum pulled 6 % of the vote, with Ben Carson, Mike Pence, Rick Perry and Marco Rubio tied at 2.1%. Of the top three vote earners, only Santorum was a speaker at CPAC. Complete poll results are below:
|
Name
|
Votes
|
Percent
|
| Ted Cruz |
70
|
38.40% |
| Rand Paul |
64
|
35.10% |
| Rick Santorum |
11
|
6.00% |
| Ben Carson* |
4
|
2.10% |
| Mike Pence |
4
|
2.10% |
| Rick Perry |
4
|
2.10% |
| Marco Rubio |
4
|
2.10% |
| Paul Ryan |
4
|
2.10% |
| Chris Christie |
3
|
1.60% |
| Jon Huntsman |
3
|
1.60% |
| Justin Amash |
2
|
1.10% |
| Jeb Bush |
2
|
1.10% |
| Sarah Palin |
2
|
1.10% |
| Newt Gingrich |
1
|
0.50% |
| Gary Johnson* |
1
|
0.50% |
| Mike Lee* |
1
|
0.50% |
| Condoleezza Rice |
1
|
0.50% |
| Allen West* |
1
|
0.50% |
| * Write In | ||
