The Other McCain

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ORLANDO GOP STRAW POLL RESULTS UPDATE: Herman Cain Beats Rick Perry

Posted on | September 24, 2011 | 102 Comments

We will have results of the important crucial life-or-death world-historical cosmos-shifting Florida Republican P5 Straw Poll within mere moments.

UPDATE: HERMAN CAIN WINS WITH 37.1%

UPDATE II: The St. Petersburg Times calls the results a “stunning upset,” as Rick Perry finished a distant second with less than 16%!

UPDATE III: Dave Weigel:

By failing so convincingly, Perry’s ensured that the weekend’s “trouble for frontrunner narrative” will be plated in gold and frozen in amber.

Or as he put it earlier: “shadows of vultures” are all over the Perry campaign.

UPDATE IV: The results, with nearly 2,700 delegates voting:

CAIN . . . . . . . . . . . 37.1%
PERRY . . . . . . . . . 15.4%
ROMNEY . . . . . . . 14.7%
SANTORUM . . . . 10.9%
PAUL . . . . . . . . . .  10.4%
GINGRICH . . . . . . 8.4%
HUNTSMAN . . . . 2.3%
BACHMANN . . . . 1.5%

“A total embarrassment for Perry,” says Allapundit.

UPDATE V: Just got off the phone with Cain campaign spokeswoman Ellen Carmichael, who informs me that the candidate is flying back to Atlanta to prepare for a trip to New York, where he will appear Monday on Fox & Friends to promote his new book, This Is Herman Cain!

A quick survey of headlines:

Cain upsets Perry at Florida straw poll
— USA Today

Cain wins GOP straw poll; result could
carry weight in presidential race
— Tampa Tribune

Hermain Cain wins Florida
straw poll in stunning victory
— Miami Herald

He’s definitely come a long way since the days of “Herman Who?”

UPDATE VI: Here’s one to save for your scrapbook, kids:

The link is to Seth McLaughlin’s Washington Times story:

ORLANDO — Former Godfather Pizza CEO Herman Cain won the Presidency 5 straw poll here Saturday, delivering a blow to Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s frontrunner status and a victory for a candidate who has struggled to transform his grassroots popularity into strong showings in national polls. . . .

UPDATE VII: Don Surber of the Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail:

Reeling from poor performances by Rick Perry in the CNN and Fox News debates, conservatives flocked to the Godfather — Herman Cain — as he swept today’s Florida Straw Poll with 37% of the vote. Trailing badly were Rick Perry 15%, Mitt Romney 14%, Rick Santorum 11%, Ron Paul 10%, Newt Gingrich 9%, Jon Huntsman 2%, and Michele Bachmann 2%.

Permit me humbly to suggest that this puts a decisive end to all that Chris Christie talk. I mean, how bad would it look if Republicans brought in a new candidate because they were afraid a black man might win the nomination?

UPDATE VIII: Press release from the Cain campaign:

Cain Sweeps Presidency 5 Poll,
Garners Florida Endorsement
(Orlando, FL)- Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain swept the Republican Party of Florida’s “Presidency 5” straw poll today in Orlando, capping off his strongest fundraising and grassroots week since the establishment of his campaign in May 2011. . . .
This week, Governor Rick Scott pointed out that the winner of the Presidency 5 straw poll would go on to win the nomination. He explained that former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush, plus 1995 GOP nominee Bob Dole all won Florida straw polls.
“Thank you to the Republican voters for this incredible honor of being named the winner of the Presidency 5 straw poll in Florida today,” Cain said. “This is a sign of our growing momentum and my candidacy that cannot be ignored. I will continue to share my message of ‘common sense solutions’ across this country and look forward to spending more time in Florida, a critical state for both the nomination and the general election.”
On Friday evening, Scott Plakon, the Americans for Prosperity- Florida Legislator of the Year who represents the state’s 37th district, endorsed Herman Cain in front of more than 1,000 cheering supporters at the Rosen Center in Orlando, Fla. Scott is best known as the sponsor of the Florida Health Care Freedom Act, slated to be Amendment 1 on Florida’s 2012 general election ballot.
“I’m proud to support Herman Cain. Our country is suffering right now from bad ideas, bad policies and bad leadership. Herman Cain has the right ideas, the right policies and is a proven business and conservative leader,” Scott explained. “Over the last few days at the Orange County Convention Center, I’ve seen him connect with Florida voters like few candidates I’ve ever seen. I look forward to working with Herman Cain to see him win Florida and to become the next President of the United States.”
In addition to being named the victor of Thursday night’s FOX News/ Google/ RPOF Republican presidential candidate debate and the straw poll, Cain spent the entire week in Florida, touring the Sunshine State on his nationwide “Common Sense Solutions Bus Tour,” addressing CPAC Florida and speaking at the Presidency 5 festivities.

I’m told that people trying to make online donations at Herman Cain’s Web site have reported difficulty getting through because the traffic is so heavy. So while you’re waiting, how about hitting my tip jar instead?

PREVIOUSLY:


Category: Debates, Election 2012, Florida, Herman Cain, Polls, Republicans, Rick Perry

Comments

102 Responses to “ORLANDO GOP STRAW POLL RESULTS UPDATE: Herman Cain Beats Rick Perry”

  1. jwallin
    September 24th, 2011 @ 10:03 pm

    I read that Perry stated it was a mistake for the other candidates to not show up for the Fl vote.

    Looks like it was a mistake for Perry to show up.

    Since Perry has shown HE’S in need of a teleprompter, I more and more interested in Mr. Cain.

    He’s looking more and more electable.

  2. carder
    September 24th, 2011 @ 10:10 pm

    The racists have spoken!  Godfather’s pizza for all!

  3. adolph.stephens
    September 24th, 2011 @ 10:19 pm

    Look, I love Cain, but,… it’s difficult to square “inexperience” as a factor in Obama’s dismal performance while promoting a guy who’s never held public office at all.  That said, I’ll give it a go, the difference is in CEO experience and in the fact that Cain’s Constitutional conservative principles would have the opposite effect on the country as the destructive progressive ideology of Barack O Carter.

    My 1st preference is Palin, but I will fight for HC if he’s the nominee.  And I’m telling everyone right now, if it’s Romney, I’m staying home, and I would expect many others will as well.  Why?  I would rather have to fend off any more of BO Carters’ policies than defend a vote for an unprincipled, flip-flopping slickster who tailors his message to the audience he’s in front of at that moment.

  4. Florida Straw Poll 2011Results – with links « Sussex County Angel
    September 24th, 2011 @ 6:19 pm

    […] Florida Straw Poll results are […]

  5. ThePaganTemple
    September 24th, 2011 @ 10:27 pm

    HaHa I want to hear some more smack talk from O’Reilly now. I have an idea the Bolder Fresher Tour is going to be hitting the road for an extended engagement.

  6. Anonymous
    September 24th, 2011 @ 10:33 pm

    Why exactly is this more, or less important than Ames?

    Huntsman over Bachmann? WTF!

  7. Quartermaster
    September 24th, 2011 @ 10:35 pm

    If the nominee is Romney, I’m staying home too. If McCain had been elected in 2008, much of the conversation would be different and the “bipartisan” road to ruin would be a quiet trip as the GOP only want to run the car over the cliff at 75 mph instead 105. There isn’t a dime’s worth of difference between McCain and Romney.

    I hope Cain gets a good look. The CEO part is good training for what we need in the district of corruption. Government experience is not.

  8. carder
    September 24th, 2011 @ 10:36 pm

    Because nobody got free BBQ.

  9. Cain takes Florida straw poll « Don Surber
    September 24th, 2011 @ 6:44 pm

    […] course, Robert Stacy McCain is all smiles. And David Weigel made Herman Cain out as the second choice. CommentsPowered by Facebook […]

  10. ThePaganTemple
    September 24th, 2011 @ 10:51 pm

    I noticed that, did Bachmann even campaign in Florida. I’ve been hearing she’s having money problems. I think she’s pretty much done if she doesn’t win Iowa, at least that’s the conventional wisdom. After this, Cain is positioned to do very well there. I’m really worried about Huntsman in New Hampshire. If he wins NH, I think we can write that state off in the general.

  11. ThePaganTemple
    September 24th, 2011 @ 10:53 pm

    AAAARGGHHH don’t say that. At least get out and vote in the other elections. But really, you should vote for Romney too, if we have to, and trust the Republicans in Congress to keep him in line. Really, the country can’t take another four years of that fucking communist apparatchik.

  12. MrPaulRevere
    September 24th, 2011 @ 10:57 pm

    Wonderful. Outstanding. Excellent. People know a man of character, wisdom and vision when they see one. They are tired of fake carnival barkers selling snake oil.

  13. steve benton
    September 24th, 2011 @ 11:00 pm

    Congratulations on ensuring Mitt Romney’s nomination. The way you destroyed Perry was a work of art. Hey, since Cain won the straw poll, now all of the liberals will like us, and those meanies will quit calling us racists. Say hello to 4 more years of Barack Obama.

  14. McGehee
    September 24th, 2011 @ 11:04 pm

    Obama’s inexperience before becoming president was TOTAL, not just public-sector executive. Furthermore, the temper of the country isn’t going to be persuaded by arguments that a man who’s spent decades creating jobs, is less qualified for the presidency than someone whose entire life was spent cashing checks drawn on the public treasury.

  15. McGehee
    September 24th, 2011 @ 11:05 pm

    I won’t stay home if Romney is the nomney. I’ll just leave that line on my ballot blank.

    If he needs my one vote to win Georgia, winning Georgia isn’t going to help him.

  16. MrPaulRevere
    September 24th, 2011 @ 11:07 pm

    From the comments at NRO’s Corner, I couldn’t agree more: “One other thing. My prediction is that Perry’s no-heart line will now go down as one of the Great Debate Gaffes of all time. Right up there with the Amy consultations and the liberation of Poland and the comparison to JFK.”

  17. Shelli
    September 24th, 2011 @ 11:23 pm

    Wrong answer there gentlemen…we can not stay home regardless…if BO is re-elected. We definitely will no longer have a free country to live in. In fact, we may never see free elections again in our lifetime. The answer is to get out there and get Cain elected as the nominee and then see to it that he beats Obama, he can do it, he will need our support as the establishment Repubs will fight him with everything they have. They know that if Cain is elected President, that the good ole boy policital structure is dead in the water, because to use Cain’s own words…”that dog won’t hunt”!

  18. Herman Cain crushes establishment Republicans in Florida straw poll : Fire Andrea Mitchell!
    September 24th, 2011 @ 7:25 pm

    […] paying dividends. Cain today crushed the establishment Republicans in the Florida Straw Poll. Herman Cain received 37% of the vote. Heartless Rick Perry received a meager 15% and RINO Mitt Romney 14%. This is a complete and total […]

  19. Shelli
    September 24th, 2011 @ 11:27 pm

    You are absolutely wrong…Cain is the only one that is willing to roll up his sleeves and get to work on righting our sinking ship of a country. He will not be willing to wait around on washington bureaucrats to work in their time table. He will get things done! That is what business men do when they have a company in crisis, they get to work and get it fixed. This is exactly what we need and by the way, the fact that the race card and class warfare strategy can not be used against our nominee…so much the better!

  20. Anonymous
    September 24th, 2011 @ 11:30 pm

    Given how little snap actually she got from the Ames poll perhaps she thought it wasn’t worth the effort. How many people are actually voting in this poll and how are they chosen? Ames for instance is basically tailor made for Paul to do well.

  21. Anonymous
    September 24th, 2011 @ 11:38 pm

    If Romney is the nominee I’m going in the wire brush business. Win or lose if Romney gets the GOP nomination they lose a big chunk of the base to a third party. In “the spin room” after the debate Bachmann said that this cycle is our best chance to elect a real conservative. She’s right about that.

  22. Anonymous
    September 24th, 2011 @ 11:41 pm

    Who exactly are you congratulating?

  23. BLBeamer
    September 24th, 2011 @ 11:43 pm

    I never vote for someone, I always vote against.  If it comes down to Obama and Huntsman, maybe I’ll see who the Libertarians are running.

  24. Anonymous
    September 24th, 2011 @ 11:46 pm

    I think the demise of Perry and Romney is greatly exaggerated. How long did it take for Ron Paul to drop out last time?

  25. Whoa! Herman Cain Wins Florida Straw Poll « Nice Deb
    September 24th, 2011 @ 7:50 pm

    […] Other McCain: ORLANDO GOP STRAW POLL RESULTS UPDATE: Herman Cain Beats Rick Perry: I’m told that people trying to make online donations at Herman Cain’s Web site have reported […]

  26. Anonymous
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:07 am

    Steve, So you are asserting that coming in third in a meaningless straw poll ensure Romney gets the nomination. Might want to increase your meds. Past history has shown that every candidate has  issues at some point in the long campaign season. For some it is a poor showing in an early state they need to bounce back from. For others it is performing well enough to get financial backing. Over coming problems and appealing to people willing to donate are all part of making the case that you’re a credible candidate.

    You are right about on thing, we really have no chance if people resign themselves to another four years of Obama just because their preferred candidate lost a stupid straw poll. If we are full of quitters like that then we can’t win no matter who our nominee is.

  27. Adjoran
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:21 am

    You stay home, you are voting with your feet to reelect Obama.

  28. Adjoran
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:26 am

    So you want more Justices like Sotomayor and Kagan, then?  And all the hundreds of judges Obama will appoint in another term?

  29. CoolChange
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:28 am

    Another worthless straw poll. Cain is Not Presidential. I would vote Third Party if he is the Nominee. Cain is unqualified.

  30. Joe
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:30 am

    I consider Godfather’s dough product with cheese and something else, not pizza, but for Herman I will eat it and smile. 

    Go Herman Go. 

    As for Perry being embarassed, that is true, but Mitt did not do very well either.  And what about Bachmann!  

  31. Dave
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:30 am

    Sometimes I like to amuse myself by writing little song parodies. I dunno why, I can’t sing a lick and have the musical talent of cheese so it’s not like I could record them or anything, but sometimes a phrase just resonates in my head and off I go. So, in honor or Mr. Cains victory, I present:

    It’s early morning
    The One comes out
    His polls are tanking
    Looks like a rout
    The tide is turning
    He’s doubting his win
    What went wrong’
    Already a has been
    People are angry
    They’re living in hell
    Here come the answer
    Our hearts do swell
    An honest answer
    To Hope n Change
    A man to lead
    A balm for the pain

    HERE HE IS, ROCK YOU LIKE HERMAN CAIN
    HERE HE IS, ROCK YOU LIKE HERMAN CAIN

    A movement is building
    Return to our roots
    The answer is coming
    Lord Zero is moot
    Freedom is screaming
    Throw off these chains
    Liberty’s calling
    Free men still remain
    Destiny’s answer
    That we already know
    The country needs him
    To run the show
    He’s girded his loins
    He’s ready to win
    Victory waiting
    Let it begin!

    HERE HE IS, ROCK YOU LIKE HERMAN CAIN
    HERE HE IS, ROCK YOU LIKE HERMAN CAIN
    HERE HE IS, ROCK YOU LIKE HERMAN CAIN
    HERE HE IS, ROCK YOU LIKE HERMAN CAIN

  32. Joe
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:32 am

    Romney has his flaws, but he is substantially better than Obama.  It would be insane for any conservative not to vote for him over Obama. 

    Stacy threw his vote away in a state that was going for Obama regardless.  And Stacy was wrong for doing that. 

  33. Adjoran
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:33 am

    Bachmann finished dead last, even behind Huntsman.  There were rumors of her cancelling events on short notice unless the organizers would put on a fundraiser for her, I don’t have any confirmation on that, but it would be a sign of desperation.

    Perry’s entry was hyped far too much.  People thought he was going to be a conservative  hero, which he isn’t.  Expectation is the toughest game to beat.  He could still mount a comeback, but he won’t be “the frontrunner” anymore, I’m thinking.

  34. Tennwriter
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:34 am

    Well, then help make sure he votes by making sure Romney doesn’t get the nomination…

  35. Joe
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:34 am

    Huntsman will absolutely postively NOT be the GOP nominee or anywhere on that ticket.  I can make that bet right now.   

    If Obama wins Huntsman might be a cabinet pick for Obama. 

  36. Tennwriter
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:35 am

    Y’know I’m a Socon, and I’d be tempted to follow you out on that plank and jump in the briny deep as well.

    But I’d vote Constitutionalist.

  37. Joe
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:36 am

    QM, bullshit.  McCain, for all his flaws, would have been better than Obama.  Romney is better than McCain.  And if McCain had won, Palin would have been VP. 

    But the bottom line is Obama is a disaster. 

  38. Joe
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:37 am

    Romney does not look like he is going to win.  So this is speculating.  But if he does, I am going to back him.  But I am not voting for him in the primaries. 

    I would encourage you to support the candiate now you like best, regardless. 

  39. Tennwriter
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:38 am

    Yes, yes, I do.  Because it will be proof that that the RINOs in charge will not permit conservatism to win, and we might as well have the big depression/massive duke it out with a side of civil war now rather than later.

  40. Joe
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:38 am

    Shelli is right.  But because this election mattes so much, we need a strong candiate in the general.   I doubt Mitt is the most likely candidate to beat Obama. 

  41. Joe
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:39 am

    Spot on. 

  42. Adjoran
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:39 am

    Oh, and Cain has the chance now to be one of the finalists.  The field needs to be narrowed, the debates need to be between no more than four contenders.  The als0-rans had their chances to be heard and make some noise.  Cain made some noise.  The rest need to fade away into obscurity.

    Don’t call us, Jon Huntsman, we’ll call you.

  43. Tennwriter
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:40 am

    How about instead of caring what the liberals think, we draw sabre, and ride over the top of them? 

  44. Beto Ochoa
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:41 am

    If everybody thought that way, nobody would vote for him in the primaries.
    Wait..you may be onto something.

  45. Joe
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:42 am

    Steve, if Perry is the guy, he will survive this.  Sorry but I am pretty sure Mitt did not speak for Perry at the debate.  Perry can keep fighting and prove his critics wrong or not.  But note that the straw poll went to Herman not Mitt.  What does that say?  And Bachman?  She is in Siberia (and I bet not even Sarah Palin can see her from her window). 

  46. Tennwriter
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:44 am

    I’ll agree with your second para. and abstain from an opinion on the first except to hope you are wrong.

  47. t-dahlgren
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:47 am

    Forget HelmetHair, he just came in third behind Cain and Perry.  Sure, his amen choir wants to let you know ‘he wasn’t serious about the straw poll,’ but that’s just manure trying to cover the fact that he always polls weakly in Florida.

  48. t-dahlgren
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:50 am

    No, like McGehee mentioned, we don’t stay home, we redouble our efforts in those offices that have managed to check Obama – the House and particularly the Senate.

    Romney is a kinder gentler, if somewhat slower trip down the exact same path that Obama want to travel.  Count me out.

  49. t-dahlgren
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:54 am

    If Cain ever did get the nomination he’d get my full throated support.  If America then chooses to reject an obviously better choice of Cain vs. the blatant crony socialism and proven incompetency of Duh Won, well, then we are all in for a hard learned lesson.

    So be it.

  50. Anonymous
    September 25th, 2011 @ 12:57 am

    The reason Bachmann has had money problems is that her “burn rate” got too high. After her strong showing in the New Hampshire debate, she staffed up to fight T-Paw in the two-month Iowa fight for the Ames Straw Poll.

    She won, and T-Paw was forced to quit, but it appears in retrospect to have been a pyrrhic victory. The buzz — and money surge — she might have gotten was hijacked by Perry’s entrance on the same day as Ames. Meanwhile, she still had all that staff whose salaries had to be paid.

    So, the next irony: It was Bachmann who put the torpedo into Perry last week in the Tampa debate with her line about “innocent little 12-year-old girls” getting Gardasil shots. In the post-debate battle, Bachmann’s credibility was badly damaged, but she’d already done severe damage to Perry. He therefore came into Thursday’s Orlando debate on the defensive, and couldn’t sustain the pressure.

    All of this is wildly ironic: Herman Cain, who was gaining momentum before Bachmann’s surge, is now the guy with momentum again, three months later. T-Paw’s gone, Bachmann’s broke, and Perry’s starting to look like buzzard bait. But I agree with some of the commenters who say that Cain’s win may actually help Romney.

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