Mitt Romney Wins New Hampshire Republican Party Committee Straw Poll with 35%

The race is on for 2012 …

As reported at ABC News, Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor, wins the New Hampshire Republican Party Committee Straw Poll with 35% of the vote. US Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) was a distant second with 11% while former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin finished fourth with 7%. Palin’s place is rather understandable seeing that she has yet to visit the Granite state.

In the first ever “straw poll” of New Hampshire Republican party committee members sponsored by ABC News and WMUR and sanctioned by the state Republican party, ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney took 35 percent of the 276 valid ballots cast. This is just 3 percent more than Romney took in the 2008 GOP primary, when he finished in second place behind Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

The “straw poll” was open only to the 426 registered members of the Republican committee, and 65 percent of those committee members participated.

Full WMUR, ABC News, NH GOP 2012 Straw Poll Results can be seen HERE.

The names on the straw poll ballot were as follows:

They are: Michele Bachmann, Haley Barbour, Chris Christie, Herman Cain, Mitch Daniels, Jim DeMint, Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani, Judd Gregg, Mike Huckabee, Jon Huntsman, Gary Johnson, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Mike Pence, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, John Thune and Donald Trump.

Honestly, not only do straw polls mean little, it is far too early to gain anything from this. Obviously Romney is going to do well, he was a governor in a bordering New England state. He has name recognition due to proximity. Most of the GOP candidates have no even begun to make their push and nor should they. I am political as the next person, but its far too soon to dwell on the 2012 Presidental race.