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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Paul wins conservative straw poll

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md., Friday. (Associated Press)

OXON HILL, Md. – Sen. Rand Paul was the top choice of conservatives in a straw poll for potential Republican presidential contenders at an annual conservative conference near Washington. The Kentucky Republican has been a repeat favorite among the GOP’s right flank, and won the Conservative Political Action Conference poll for the third consecutive year.

Wisconsin’s Republican Gov. Scott Walker tallied a close second, while the remaining dozen or so contenders trailed, according to results in the Washington Times, which sponsored the contest. Paul earned 25.7 percent of the vote, followed by Walker with 21.4 percent.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, took 11.5 percent to finish third, narrowly besting retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 11.4 percent.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush acknowledged during his talk that he would be happy if skeptics who view him as more moderate than they prefer would consider him their “second choice.” He won 8.3 percent. Another Floridian, Sen. Marco Rubio, took 3.7 percent.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie neared the middle of the tally, with 2.8 percent – behind Donald Trump and Carly Fiorina, but ahead of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

The record-breaking crowd topped 11,000, organizers said. Pollsters say just over 3,000 attendees voted. Nearly half were aged 25 or under. The results are nonbinding and reflect only the views of the registrants who chose to vote during the conference.

Most of the Republicans who took to the stage at the annual multi-day conference have not yet officially declared their intentions to run for president in 2016.

Tribune News Service