Ron Paul wins CPAC Straw Poll, Pawlenty finishes fourth

Texas Congressman Ron Paul won the straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference. 31 percent of the 2395 registrants polled picked Paul. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney finished second with 22 percent support. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin finished third at seven percent. Gov. Tim Pawlenty finished fourth with six percent support. Pawlenty tied with "undecided" (6 percent) and just ahead of other (5 percent).

The crowd booed when Paul was announced the winner at CPAC.

Government spending was by far the biggest concern of those polled.

Here's a bad sign for Pawlenty and the other candidates -- A majority of those polled (53 percent) said "they wish the GOP had a better field of potential candidates."

You can read the full results here..

Update: Romney won the 2009 straw poll, with 20 percent support, followed by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal with the support of 14 percent of those polled. Paul and Palin tied for third at 13 percent. Pawlenty was second to last in 2009 with 2 percent support.

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