And the winner is Frist, the home state favorite
But the big surprise is Massachusetts' Gov. Mitt Romney's showing
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. - And the winner is Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.
The climax of a three-day gathering of Republican activists from 37 states came Saturday evening in Memphis as Frist won an early test of strength for 2008 GOP presidential contenders.
Frist won 36.9 percent of the 1,427 ballots cast here by delegates to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.
The shocker of the evening was that Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney placed second, besting far better-known rivals Arizona Sen. John McCain and Virginia Sen. George Allen. Romney finished with 14 percent of the vote.
Third place was shared by Allen and President Bush, each of whom won 10.3 percent of the ballots cast. Bush, who of course is not eligible to run again for president, was the write-in candidate that McCain was pushing through the weekend.
The results of the GOP straw poll were announced live at 9pm Eastern Time on MSNBC?s Hardball.
"We're excited about the grassroots being here. We're excited about the energy," said Frist spokeswoman Amy Call, who then started high-fiving with other Frist aides.
Romney spoke to the Memphis gathering on Friday afternoon ? the first of the contenders to address the gathering.
Nancy French, who said she writes political humor for a living and organized the Romney volunteer effort in Tennessee, told reporters that she and other volunteers had spent three weeks preparing for the Memphis event. ?If we had twice that, we could have taken the whole thing,? an exuberant French told reporters.
Asked if she ? like Romney ? was a Mormon, French said, ?No, I?m a Presbyterian. Everybody keeps coming over to me and saying, ?Way to go, Sister French,? and I?m ? like ? ?thanks.? I feel like I don?t know what to say.?
She said the Romney campaign had not called her to work on the Memphis event and that she and her husband had organized their own pro-Romney volunteer effort.
Meanwhile on Saturday in Livingston County, Mich., a fast-growing exurban county near Detroit, Romney won a straw poll of GOP activists, according to Michigan Republican Party chairman Saul Anuzis who was in Memphis.
He told reporters that Romney had won 25 percent of the vote, McCain 18 percent, and Allen 17.5 percent. He estimated that about 400 people had taken part in the Michigan straw poll.
Romney?s father served as governor of Michigan in the 1960s.
The native son
In the hours before the winner was revealed, Frist, who seemed the odds-on favorite, native son, told reporters, ?I really hope I do pretty well here?. This is my home state? The fact that we?re in Memphis, Tennessee ? of course I?d like to do well.?
Frist enjoyed a home court advantage since about 40 percent of the delegates attending the event are from his home state.
Most of the attendees are from the South, but some came from as far away as Iowa and Ohio.
?A lot of grassroots people came in to vote specifically, so I think they should have the opportunity? to vote, ?however they like, whether it is as a write in or for somebody who may be on? the ballot, said Frist.
This was a reference to an effort by Frist?s rival for the nomination, McCain to persuade the attendees to cast a write-in vote for the beleaguered President Bush in Saturday?s straw poll.
?We should all just keep our ambitions a distant second to standing with the president of the United States, our commander in chief," McCain said Friday night in his speech.
If it had been successful, the McCain write-in effort would have diluted the meaning of the straw poll and muddied a Frist victory. But there was some push-back to the McCain idea from delegates who wanted to show their early support for their favorite contender.
?I love President Bush,? said Linda Daves, vice chairwoman of the North Carolina Republican Party, but she questioned why anyone ?would throw their vote away.? She said not voting for one of the 2008 hopefuls was ?not a service to the party.?
Frist?s aides had portrayed the event as an important test of organizational ability, but also hedged their bets by telling reporters that Frist was from Nashville (200 miles away), and that Little Rock, home of Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, was closer to Memphis than Nashville was.
...............................................
McCain is clueless and no chance to win. Let others step to the plate.
But the big surprise is Massachusetts' Gov. Mitt Romney's showing
FREE VIDEO
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - And the winner is Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.
The climax of a three-day gathering of Republican activists from 37 states came Saturday evening in Memphis as Frist won an early test of strength for 2008 GOP presidential contenders.
Frist won 36.9 percent of the 1,427 ballots cast here by delegates to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.
The shocker of the evening was that Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney placed second, besting far better-known rivals Arizona Sen. John McCain and Virginia Sen. George Allen. Romney finished with 14 percent of the vote.
Third place was shared by Allen and President Bush, each of whom won 10.3 percent of the ballots cast. Bush, who of course is not eligible to run again for president, was the write-in candidate that McCain was pushing through the weekend.
The results of the GOP straw poll were announced live at 9pm Eastern Time on MSNBC?s Hardball.
"We're excited about the grassroots being here. We're excited about the energy," said Frist spokeswoman Amy Call, who then started high-fiving with other Frist aides.
Romney spoke to the Memphis gathering on Friday afternoon ? the first of the contenders to address the gathering.
Nancy French, who said she writes political humor for a living and organized the Romney volunteer effort in Tennessee, told reporters that she and other volunteers had spent three weeks preparing for the Memphis event. ?If we had twice that, we could have taken the whole thing,? an exuberant French told reporters.
Asked if she ? like Romney ? was a Mormon, French said, ?No, I?m a Presbyterian. Everybody keeps coming over to me and saying, ?Way to go, Sister French,? and I?m ? like ? ?thanks.? I feel like I don?t know what to say.?
She said the Romney campaign had not called her to work on the Memphis event and that she and her husband had organized their own pro-Romney volunteer effort.
Meanwhile on Saturday in Livingston County, Mich., a fast-growing exurban county near Detroit, Romney won a straw poll of GOP activists, according to Michigan Republican Party chairman Saul Anuzis who was in Memphis.
He told reporters that Romney had won 25 percent of the vote, McCain 18 percent, and Allen 17.5 percent. He estimated that about 400 people had taken part in the Michigan straw poll.
Romney?s father served as governor of Michigan in the 1960s.
The native son
In the hours before the winner was revealed, Frist, who seemed the odds-on favorite, native son, told reporters, ?I really hope I do pretty well here?. This is my home state? The fact that we?re in Memphis, Tennessee ? of course I?d like to do well.?
Frist enjoyed a home court advantage since about 40 percent of the delegates attending the event are from his home state.
Most of the attendees are from the South, but some came from as far away as Iowa and Ohio.
?A lot of grassroots people came in to vote specifically, so I think they should have the opportunity? to vote, ?however they like, whether it is as a write in or for somebody who may be on? the ballot, said Frist.
This was a reference to an effort by Frist?s rival for the nomination, McCain to persuade the attendees to cast a write-in vote for the beleaguered President Bush in Saturday?s straw poll.
?We should all just keep our ambitions a distant second to standing with the president of the United States, our commander in chief," McCain said Friday night in his speech.
If it had been successful, the McCain write-in effort would have diluted the meaning of the straw poll and muddied a Frist victory. But there was some push-back to the McCain idea from delegates who wanted to show their early support for their favorite contender.
?I love President Bush,? said Linda Daves, vice chairwoman of the North Carolina Republican Party, but she questioned why anyone ?would throw their vote away.? She said not voting for one of the 2008 hopefuls was ?not a service to the party.?
Frist?s aides had portrayed the event as an important test of organizational ability, but also hedged their bets by telling reporters that Frist was from Nashville (200 miles away), and that Little Rock, home of Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, was closer to Memphis than Nashville was.
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McCain is clueless and no chance to win. Let others step to the plate.
