Florida Straw Poll Results

Today was the Florida Straw Poll, following the GOP Presidential debate on Thursday night and CPAC FL conference yesterday.  The results of today's poll will come as a shock to many.  They definitely shocked me.

#1:  Herman Cain -- 37%
#2:  Rick Perry -- 15.4%
#3:  Mitt Romney -- 14%
#4:  Rick Santorum -- 11%
#5:  Ron Paul -- 10%
#6:  Newt Gingrich -- 9%
#7:  Jon Huntsman -- 2%
#8:  Michele Bachmann -- 1.5%

When I first saw the results, I could not believe that businessman Herman Cain won the straw poll!  He beat out both of the frontrunners to win it.  He really had a very strong showing at the debate on Thursday night, which I'm sure accounts for a huge amount of the votes he received.  This could really be the push that Mr. Cain needed.  After this, his campaign could take off.  While I do not think he is actually qualified to be president himself, I think he is more than able to lead in some way-- whether in a cabinet position or elsewhere.  This man is a true leader and deserves to be recognized.  America needs his experience and knowledge in business to fix this economy.  He would know what to do.  Not saying the other candidates do not, but it is certain that Mr. Cain would and does.

\The second thing that surprised me, and really, disappointed me, was Gov. Perry's "poor" performance in the straw poll.  He did come in second place, so not a disappointing outcome, so to speak.  The fact that second place was so far behind first just confirms that Thursday night was not Gov. Perry's strongest showing.  Nothing is over.  He has plenty of time to come back and prove to those who are doubting that he is the man for the job.  As someone said, if people want a smooth, eloquent speaker, they will re-elect President Obama.  We need someone with a true record.  The fact that Gov. Perry still came out ahead of Gov. Romney after all the attacks launched at him on Thursday night, assures Gov. Perry's supporters that he is still the "frontrunner." 

The last thing I was surprised by was Michele Bachmann.  Last place?!  After coming in first place in the Iowa Straw Poll, I was definitely expecting a strong finish from Rep. Bachmann.  Not so.  She finished last among the contenders, including behind Rep. Paul and former Gov. Huntsman, who I believe to be unable to win the nomination by any means.

An interesting statement came out from Gov. Perry's national press secretary, Mark Miner, who said, "Debates are part of the process but we are taking our message directly to the people. Mitt Romney has been doing debates and running for president for five and a half years and he comes in third. Must be a devastating loss for him and a morale buster for his campaign in a state like Florida after five and a half years."

Florida is set to be a huge battleground state and is on its way to being the clincher for the general election.  Since 1979, the person who has won the Florida Straw Poll has gone on to win the GOP nomination.  If that record holds true, we could have a real showdown come 2012.  People cannot tout the fact that Mr. Cain has no experience; then-Senator Obama had less than one year of Senate experience before he began his campaign for president.  He had no experience, business or political.  However, I do believe that Gov. Perry has the best chance against President Obama out of the current GOP field.  I think he has the best proven record of job creation.  He has more experience than almost all the other candidates combined.

You'll hear more from me about this showing in Florida.  My internet connection is not very good, but once I get it I will be voicing more of my opinions!

My thoughts-- GOP debate 9/22/11

This debate thought-sheet is going to be much shorter than my previous ones have been.  There were a few statements I thought were very, very good, or very, very bad.

"I will always err on the side of life."  This quote came from Gov. Rick Perry.  We have heard this before, but I believe it is something people need to pay a little more attention to.  Comparing this with former Gov. Romney's ever-changing stance on abortion, this is a strong statement to make.  It is very important for this country to "always err on the side of life."


"When countries vote against you consistently in the UN, you have to look at why are you really giving them money.  this world is in danger of becoming dramatically more dangerous in the near future."  Former Speaker Gingrich was talking about the possibility of a Palestinian state.  President Obama is actually supporting this.  It would make our world a much more dangerous place if this happened, and we need to stand with Israel and support them in their decisions regarding this.  Israel is, basically, our only true ally in the Middle East.


"92% of our people were insured before the healthcare mandate."  This comes from Gov. Romney.  I don't understand this.  If nearly all of your people were insured without a mandate, it required a state mandate in order to insure the other 8%?  Surely there must have been a different way.  It just really doesn't make sense to me.


"This economy is on life-support."  Another "I've heard it before", but this is a good one.  Herman Cain, though a businessman with no political experience, has been holding his own very well among the seasoned politicians. 

The quote of the night goes to former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson:  "My neighbor's two dogs have created more shovel ready jobs than Barack Obama."

The majority of the night went to Perry-Romney attacks, mostly on each other.  Obviously, since they are the two frontrunners at this point, they will be trying to out the other one and show that they are the better candidate.  I really do not think that they need to spend so much time on it.  They should be more focused on defeating President Obama than on attacking each other. 


The order I think the candidates placed in tonight: 
#1:  Newt Gingrich
#2:  Michele Bachmann
#3:  Rick Perry
#4:  Herman Cain
#5:  Mitt Romney
#6:  Rick Santorum
#7:  Jon Huntsman
#8:  Ron Paul
#9:  Gary Johnson

Honestly, Gov. Perry did not do as well as I would have hoped.  He stumbled on some of his answers, and he passed up some possible attacks on Gov. Romney.  On the flip side of that, this was Gov. Romney's worst debate performance so far, by avoiding many questions and not answering a question on whether he believed President Obama has very, very socialist views.  That makes Gov. Perry's performance even more disappointing.  He'll have to have a very strong showing at CPAC FL today in order to ensure he wins Florida.


Here are the answers on the last question, in case you missed it.


Who, out of the people on the stage with you, would you choose as your running mate?

Gary Johnson:  Ron Paul
Rick Santorum:  Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich:  "I have no idea"
Ron Paul:  "I have no idea" (copycat!)
Rick Perry:  Somewhere between Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich!
Mitt Romney:  Newt Gingrich
Michele Bachmann:  She avoided this question completely.
Herman Cain:  If Romney threw out his jobs plan and replaced it with his 9-9-9 program, he'd have a shot.  If not, Newt Gingrich.
Jon Huntsman:  Herman Cain.


Check back this weekend for another article on something that made me think tonight :)