Wisconsin Republican Party Convention Presidential Straw Poll - Cain 1st, Daniels 2nd, Pawlenty 3rd

Wisconsin Republican Party Convention Presidential Straw Poll - Cain 1st, Daniels 2nd, Pawlenty 3rd

WISCONSIN DELLS -- Wisconsin Republican Party conventioneers favored former business executive Herman Cain for president in 2012 and Ted Kanavas over Tommy Thompson for the party’s U.S. Senate nomination next year, according to the annual state GOP convention straw poll of activists conducted by WisPolitics.com.
 
Cain was favored by 80 of the 301 delegates, alternates and registered guests who voted this weekend. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels was next with 50 votes, while former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlety was backed by 35 voters.
 
In the Senate race, Kanavas, the former state senator from Brookfield, got 73 votes, while Thompson, the former governor and HHS secretary, was backed by 61. No candidates have officially announced for the Senate race, but Kanavas, who gave up his Senate seat last year, was at this weekend's convention to test support. Thompson, whose aides have said he intends to run, didn't attend.
 
Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen was favored by 40, while former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann was backed by 33.
 
In last year’s straw poll, GOP activists narrowly favored Pawlenty over Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney for president in 2012.
 
In this year's WisPolitics straw poll, 301 valid ballots were cast by convention delegates, alternates and official guests. There were more than 1,000 official attendees at the convention, according to state GOP officials.
 
See complete coverage of the straw poll and the RPW convention in the WisPolitics Convention Blog: http://gopconvos.wispolitics.com/
 
**2011 GOP Convention straw poll results**

301 valid ballots

President:

Herman Cain - 80
Mitch Daniels - 50
Tim Pawlenty - 35
Michele Bachmann - 31
Mitt Romney - 31
Sarah Palin - 22
Rick Santorum - 11
Newt Gingrich - 10
Ron Paul - 9
Jon Huntsman - 3
Gary Johnson - 2
Rand Paul - 2

Write-ins - 15
- Paul Ryan - 7
- Rick Perry - 3
- Allen West - 2
- Scott Walker, Mike Huckabee, Chris Christie - 1 each