Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) won the presidential straw poll at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans over the weekend, the Independent Journal Review reports.
Thirty-five percent of more than 1,500 delegates in attendance voted in the straw poll.
Ted Cruz won 30.33 percent of the votes.
The full results:
1. Ted Cruz — 30.33 percent
2. Ben Carson — 29.38 percent
3. Rand Paul — 10.43 percent
4. Mike Huckabee — 5.06 percent
5. Rick Perry — 4.90 percent
6. Curt Clawson (write-in) — 4.58 percent
7. Jeb Bush — 4.42 percent
8. Marco Rubio — 3.32 percent
9. Rick Santorum — 2.37 percent
10. Paul Ryan — 2.05 percent
11. Allen West (write-in) — 2.05 percent
12. Chris Christie — 1.11 percent
The IJ Review reports on three main takeaways from the straw poll:
1) Ted Cruz is the conservative favorite right now.
2) The enthusiasm for Ben Carson is real, and he will be a factor if he decides to run.
3) Rand Paul has surprisingly high support, even within potentially hostile crowds – such as the mostly white and older attendees of the RLC. Rand Paul certainly will be a major factor in 2016, even if it’s just through pushing other candidates and drawing stark contrasts.