ORLANDO — Former pizza chain executive Herman Cain defeated front runner Rick Perry in the Florida GOP presidential straw poll, a major upset that underscores Perry’s weakening candidacy and the overall voter dissatisfaction with the field’s top-tier candidates.
Cain won decisively with 37 percent of the vote after delivering a spirited speech on his plan to institute a 9 percent across-the-board tax rate that the crowd cheered wildly.
Perry finished second with 15 percent of the vote and former Massachusetts Gov. Romney placed third with 14 percent.
“The American dream is under attack because we have become a nation of crises,” Cain said. “But the good news is we can solve these crises. It’s just going to take good leadership and some common sense.”
Support for Cain had been building exponentially in the days preceding the straw poll, thanks in part to his crowd-pleasing performance at Thursday’s GOP debate and another strong speech delivered at Friday’s Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando. A Cain rally Friday night drew so many people overflow rooms were needed.
Cain clearly benefited from Perry’s struggle during Thursday’s debate, when the Texas governor appeared tentative at times and angered conservatives with his support for in-state college tuition rates for illegal immigrants.
After the debate, many delegates told The Washington Examiner that they dropped their support for Perry.
“I was for Perry, but the immigration issue sold him out to me and I will fight against him with every dime I have,” said Dorothy Petticrew, a delegate from Orange County.
When the debate ended, Petticrew chucked out the Perry signs and stickers she brought to the event and started looking at Romney. Then she heard Cain’s closing speech Saturday and said he had inspired her like no other candidate.
“I was going to vote for Mitt,” Petticrew said. “But I’ve not seen the enthusiasm ever before that Herman Cain had today and I will send him a substantial check tonight.”
Mary Robbie of St. Augustine was another delegate who came to the Florida 5 convention planning to vote for Perry only to drop him over the tuition issue. Cain’s Saturday address locked in her vote, too.
“I think we need somebody with a great deal of passion and enthusiasm and a very clear plan — and that’s what Cain offers,” Robbie said.
The straw poll draws only a tiny fraction of Florida Republican voters. Just 2,657 appointed GOP delegates picked the winners. The outcome may have been influenced by the fact that several of the candidates, including Perry and Romney, didn’t address delegates before the vote, as Cain did.
Romney, a former frontrunner, came in third, with 14 percent of the vote followed by former Sen. Rick Santorum with 11 percent. Rep. Ron Paul had 10 percent, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had 8 percent and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman had 2 percent. Rep. Michele Bachmann, the Iowa straw poll winner, finished with 1 percent.
Perry skyrocketed to the front of the pack when he entered the race in August, but his numbers have been dropping and Romney is now within striking distance, polls show.
