Republican presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., won a Michigan straw poll on Saturday, beating businesswoman Carly Fiorina and other GOP challengers.
After a well-received speech Saturday night to the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, Paul took 22 percent of the vote in the 31st biannual presidential straw poll. Paul is seventh on the Washington Examiner‘s presidential power rankings.
Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, whose performance at the CNN debate Wednesday earned pundits’ praise, came in second in the straw poll with 15 percent of the vote and Ohio Gov. John Kasich came in third with 14 percent. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz got 13 percent and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush brought up the rear with 10 percent.
All of the top vote-getters attended the Michigan group’s leadership conference on Saturday. The poll is of the conference’s 2,200 attendees.
“It is an honor to win the MRLC straw poll as it is voted on by the most influential Michigan GOP members, grassroots leaders and party activists from throughout the country,” Paul said in a statement.
Paul’s campaign also touted that since the Ames Straw Poll was cancelled, the Mackinac straw poll is the “largest pre-caucus or primary poll of the presidential cycle.”
However, in other polls Paul still has some ground to make up. A CNN national poll of the GOP race found he was at just 4 percent.
