Ron Paul Is Victorious: In the SLRC straw poll: Paul 612 Huntsman 382 Bachmann 191 Cain 104 RonPaul excites half the crowd and aggravates the neocons and social cons Telegraph: Republican maverick RonPaul wins a second straw poll and reminds the critics why he matters Ron Paul – Gold Is Money RonPaul Republican Ron Paul Wins Poll in Leadership Conference Ron Paul wins the RLC Straw Poll by a landslide in New Orleans. Way to go Dr. Paul! Rand Paul: Obama administration has “failed miserably” Ronpaul wins RLC Straw Poll: Beats Mitt #Romney 8-to-1! Mitt finishes near last among declared nominees. RonPaul Ron Paul Wins Another Straw Poll, Huntsman a Decisive SecondHuntsman surprises in big GOP straw poll
 | CNN Political Reporter Peter Hamby |
New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) - Jon Huntsman was a no-show at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, but the former Utah governor raised eyebrows with a surprising second place in the conference’s 2012 presidential straw poll Saturday.
Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who delivered a fiery and well-attended speech here in Friday, continued his record of strong straw poll performances and won the vote outright with 612 votes. Huntsman came next with 382 votes.
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, coming off an impressive debate performance on Monday in New Hampshire, finished in third place with 191 votes.
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, coming off an impressive debate performance on Monday in New Hampshire, finished in third place with 191 votes.
They were followed by pizza magnate Herman Cain (104 votes), former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (74 votes), former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (69 votes) and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (41 votes).
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum finished in eighth place with 30 votes. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who did not speak at the conference, finished in a dismal ninth place with 18 votes.
Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson came in last with just 10 votes.
It was Huntsman’s surprising runner-up finish, though, that grabbed the most attention on Saturday when the results of the two-day vote were announced.
When he was booked as one of the speakers at the semi-annual event, there were questions about how Huntsman - who has broken with GOP orthodoxy on issues like climate change and same-sex civil unions - would be received among the conservative activists who typically attend such gatherings.
Huntsman, though, came down with a last minute cold this week and decided to skip the event. He dispatched his wife, Mary Kaye, to greet conference-goers in his stead.
And his strong finish in the straw poll might have gotten a boost from some behind-the-scenes work by his political team. Several of his political advisers, including John Weaver, Chris Allen, John Yob and Jake Suski, made the trip to New Orleans and were seen huddling with delegates at the riverfront hotel where the conference was held.
Miller attributed the win to the former ambassador to China’s economic message. He did not comment when asked if Huntsman advisers paid for their supporters to get to the ballot box.
