Ron Paul has won his sixth Republican Straw Poll in Barack Obama's home turf.
November 6, 2011- On Saturday, Ron Paul was declared the Republican presidential straw poll winner in the home state of President Barack Obama. The Texas Congressman took 52% of the votes that were cast both in person and online between October 29 and November 5. His take was 65% of the internet voting and 8% of the votes cast by people in person.
Herman Cain took 18% of the vote while Mitt Romney the former Governor of Massachusetts earned 14% to place third. Following them were Newt Gingrich with 9% of the vote, Rick Perry with 2.5% and Jon Huntsman with 1.5%.
A fee of $5 was collected from each voter in order to help cover the costs of the poll and support the Illinois Republican Party local and state candidates. Chairman of the Republican Party in Illinois, Pat Brady said, “The straw poll today gave a way to showcase the strength of our party just one year away from the next presidential election.” He added, “We are all pleased with the turnout today and going forward will build on the successes we enjoyed in 2010,”
Illinois Republicans hope they can turn Illinois into a contested stated for the general election in 2012. Obama easily won his home state in the election of 2008. However, in the mid-term elections of 2010, Republicans in Illinois won an additional four spots in the House of Representatives. They now hold a majority of 11 to eight.
