Ron Paul wins GOP straw poll before Gingrich speaking event
The news is that Ron Paul won the straw poll for the Gwinnett County Republican Party (GA) by a double-digit margin, but you would hardly guess that from the local press’s emphasis. The Suwanee Patch could barely bring itself to mention Paul’s victory, instead making the headline and the story focus on fading homeboy Gingrich: “Gingrich 2nd in Gwinnett GOP Straw Poll; Paul Wins.”
Buried deep in the story, only after a bunch of “Gingrich said this” and “Gingrich did that,” we find,
Paul collected 115 votes to Gingrich’s 73. Finishing third was former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum with 60 votes. Mitt Romney, currently the overall delegate leader among GOP candidates, got 25 votes.
Put in terms in which political polls are normally related to the public:
Paul – 42%
Gingrich – 27%
Santorum – 22%
Romney – 9%
Had any of the other three won by such a wide margin in the local Party’s own straw poll, no doubt the virtually establishment-worshiping press would have announced it as a “double digit victory” or a “landslide.” The Suwanee Patch needs to patch the threadbare knees in its reporting.
Thankfully, at least one news source has something close to ethics. The State Column reports,
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul defeated former House Speaker Newt Gingrich Saturday to win a Georgia straw poll conducted by the Gwinnett County Republican Party, Suwanee Patch reports.
The results of the Georgia straw poll suggest that the latest Georgia polls may not be accurately measuring Mr. Paul’s support in the Peach State. A recent Landmark/Rosetta Stone poll of likely voters in the Georgia Republican primary found Mr. Paul with 5 percent of the votes and Mr. Gingrich with 35 percent of the votes. Other Peach State polls have found Mr. Gingrich with more than 40 percent of the votes.
Mr. Paul’s victory over Mr. Gingrich in the Georgia straw poll is enhanced by the fact that the Georgia Republican spoke later in the day at the same school where the straw poll was conducted.
Back in Iowa, after the dust has long settled in their highly publicized beauty-contest caucus, state polls show that Paul leads all comers in a head-to-head contest with Obama in that State which has yet to award its delegates. Again, The State Column reports well:
Republican presidential candidates Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney defeated President Barack Obama in a Des Moines Register poll of Iowa general election voters Sunday. Mr. Paul bested Mr. Obama by 7 percentage points (49 to 42) and Mr. Santorum bettered the president by 4 percentage points (48 to 44). Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney exceeded Mr. Obama by 2 percentage points (46 to 44).