Romney Wins Straw Poll at CPAC

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Former Massachusetts
Governor Mitt Romney has narrowly won the presidential straw poll conducted at
the Conservative Political Conference (CPAC), the nation's oldest and largest
gathering of conservative activists, students and policymakers. Arizona
Senator John McCain finished second by one point, 35 to 34 percent, while
former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Texas Congressman Ron Paul tied for
third with 12 percent each.
The poll was conducted Thursday and Friday, February 7 and 8 and ballots
were cast both before and after Romney announced at the conference he was
suspending his campaign. Due to Romney's announcement, tabulations were made
both before and after the Romney announcement. McCain won the portion
tabulated following the announcement by five points, not quite enough to
overcome Romney's earlier 17 point lead.
CPAC Chairman David Keene said the increased support for McCain after his
speech to CPAC and Romney's announcement shows it is possible for McCain to
unite conservatives behind him, but more needs to be done.
"If McCain is interested in talking to conservatives, so are most
conservatives interested in talking to him," Keene said. "It's important for
any Republican nominee to understand that he must rely on support from the
conservative base and without that support, he's in trouble. Whether McCain
will have that vital support remains to be seen but from my perspective a few
steps have been taken down that road at the CPAC conference."
The poll, conducted by Fabrizio McLaughlin Associated, drew 1,585 voters.
Only registered CPAC attendees could participate. The full results of the
poll are posted at www.CPAC.org.
CPAC is a project of the American Conservative Union Foundation, in
association with Young America's Foundation and Human Events. The conference
is cosponsored by over 90 of the nation's leading conservative organizations.
For continued updates on the program or to register online, visit
www.cpac.org.
SOURCE CPAC

Larry Hart, +1-202-550-5018, for CPAC