Mitt Romney wins CPAC Straw Poll

Great photo of Mitt Romney

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is the winner of the Conservative Political Action Conference Straw Poll, The Washington Times reports.

The poll provides an indication of where the party’s base is — and it is solidifying behind Mitt Romney.

With Rick Santorum's three wins earlier this week in Nevada, Colorado and Missouri, some in the GOP were concerned Santorum could actually pull off an upset and become the eventual GOP nominee.  This worried some as Santorum's policies are very far to the right and could have trouble winning voters in a general election.

Romney won the Straw Poll with 38 percent of the 3,408 votes cast. Rick Santorum followed with 31 percent, Newt Gingrich with 15 percent, and Ron Paul with 12 percent.

In a separate national poll of conservatives, Romney took 27 percent of self-identified conservatives, just ahead of Santorum’s 25 percent.

The Washington Times, the poll's sponsor, notes that Romney's total is the highest since then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush won the straw poll in 2000 with 42 percent of the vote.
(source)