Romney takes first Illinois straw poll
BREAKING NEWS (Updated 6:48 p.m.) SPRINGFIELD — Less than a week after doing the same in the more popular Iowa contest, presidential candidate Mitt Romney today won the Illinois State Fair's Republican straw poll.
State party Chairman Andrew McKenna said the poll can be an early barometer of a presidential campaign's strength but wasn't disappointed that just 922 people voted.
It was the key event of Republican Day at the fair, which was dampened by steady rain early in the day.
“Typically, a couple hundred people come out to this,” he said. “So I think it was successful in bringing many more people.”
McKenna said the purpose of the poll was to get Illinois Republicans energized after the 2006 elections left the party without any seats in state executive offices and with minority positions in the House and Senate.
State Sen. Dan Rutherford, the Chenoa Republican leading Romney's campaign in Illinois, said the win was a big one despite the turnout.
“It gave all of us a chance to exercise our organizations,” he said. “See who's out there in the field that's interested and willing to come out either on a hot sunny day or a cold rainy day.”
Romney supporters were bused in from across Illinois to vote at the Springfield fairgrounds today. And before the results were announced, his supporters got in shouting contests with a group supporting U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.
During the several hours of voting, Paul's supporters were seen marching and chanting throughout the grounds, trying to round up fairgoers and direct them toward the polls.
Paul eventually took third in the poll, ahead of presumed top-tier candidates former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain.
Former Tennessee senator and actor Fred Thompson has yet to formally declare he's running for president but finished second in today's tally.
Before the results came in, Thompson supporter state Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, said he thought the poll was a good idea but hoped the results wouldn't favor the candidate who spent the most money to turn out votes.
“I think this is a fabulous exercise that will help build a stronger Republican Party in Illinois,” Brady said.
McKenna said the party probably wouldn't endorse a candidate for February's primary election.
Mike Riopell can be contacted at mike.riopell@lee.net or (217) 789-0865. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
Here’s how each candidate did in the Illinois Republican straw poll:
Mitt Romney: 373
Fred Thompson: 184
Ron Paul: 174
Rudy Giuliani: 107
John McCain: 38
Mike Huckabee: 28
Sam Brownback: 10
Duncan Hunter: 6
Tom Tancredo: 2