Mitt Romney, who was thrashed in contests in three states last week by Rick Santorum, revived his standing among his party’s most conservative faction with a decisive straw poll victory at the annual gathering of the Conservative Political Action Conference. Romney was chosen by 38 percent of the 3,408 CPAC attendees who participated in the poll, followed by Santorum, who won 31 percent. Newt Gingrich, who has struggled badly in the polls since his South Carolina primary victory last month, drew 15 percent. Ron Paul, who was last year’s winner but who skipped the conference to campaign in the Maine caucuses, came in last with 12 percent of the vote.
The straw poll results were announced to a mixture of gasps, cheers and boos from a packed ballroom at the Washington D.C. Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, which hosted the three-day CPAC event. The room was filled to capacity with conservative activists who were awaiting a speech by former Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, who has hinted at her support for Newt Gingrich.
The crowd reaction underscored the mixed feelings among conference attendees about who should be their nominee.
Gingrich and Santorum have labeled Romney as too moderate to provide an adequately strong contrast to President Obama in the general election, and many in the CPAC crowd also harbored that feeling, with 46 percent of them picking either Santorum or Gingrich. But the straw poll win buoyed Romney’s case that he was popular enough with conservatives to carry their banner in the general election.
The poll results showed that 83 percent of poll participants were between the ages of 18 and 55, suggesting that the participation of younger voters likely helped sway the contest in Romney’s favor.
“Romney is the only candidate who hasn’t worked in Washington D.C.,” said Adam Graf, a CPAC voter in his 20’s from Racine, Wisconsin who described himself as a somewhat moderate Republican. “And he’s the only candidate who has worked in the private sector.”
Romney delivered a speech to CPAC attendees on Friday that was laced with conservative references, with Romney at one point describing his tenure as Massachusetts governor as “severely conservative.”
Santorum backers, who swarmed the Marriott lobby sporting signs and handouts, had predicted Santorum would win the straw poll.
Santorum warned the crowd on Friday not to compromise for a more moderate candidate, without specifically naming Romney.
But the issue of electability continues to plague Santorum, with some viewing Romney as the best able to beat Obama in a general election lineup.
“I like Santorum, but I don’t think he’s electable,” said Andrew Payne, a student from Reston, Virginia. “I think Mitt Romney will be able to win the independent vote.”
Santorum volunteer Doug Fox, of Los Angeles, said Santorum is gaining on Romney when it comes to the electability argument.
“It’s going Rick Santorum’s way, ” said Fox, of Lost Angeles. “No question about it. ”
Palin, in a rousing speech that closed out the conference, called for the race to continue.
“Competition will lead us to victory in 2012,” Palin said. But some CPAC attendees called for Gingrich to drop out in order to allow conservatives to coalesce around Santorum.
“You’ve got to admit, you’d love to see Newt debate Barack Obama,” said Carol Hicks, of Avon, Connecticut. “But he’s only causing more damage now.”
