Ron Paul wins state GOP straw poll

Bob Gibson / Charlottesville Daily Progress
Published: December 1, 2007

ARLINGTON - Anti-war libertarian Republican Ron Paul won Saturday's informal straw poll among Virginia Republicans at the state party's annual Advance, defeating runner-up Fred Thompson by 70 votes.

Paul, a Texas congressman, captured 38 percent of the votes - 182 of 479 ballots cast - while former Tennessee Sen. Thompson received 112 votes.

Former Sen. George Allen spoke for Thompson at the 24th annual retreat that the party calls an advance, while Janet Huckabee, wife of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, spoke for her husband, who finished third in the straw poll with 51 votes, or 10 percent.

Rounding out the GOP presidential hopefuls, Mitt Romney got 45 votes while Rudy Giuliani received 43, John McCain won 23, Duncan Hunter got 19 and four ballots were cast for Tom Tancredo.

Before the presidential straw poll, where only Paul's supporters appeared organized and boisterous with signs, Republicans heard Del. Chris Saxman, R-Staunton, announce that he will not be a candidate for the U.S. Senate from Virginia in 2008.

Saxman's decision not to run leaves former Gov. Jim Gilmore as the sole Republican seeking the party's nomination in a May 31 convention in Richmond to oppose former Gov. Mark R. Warner, D-Alexandria, for the seat of retiring Sen. John W. Warner, R-Alexandria.

Saxman, 42, said he will set up a political action committee to focus on issues and help build the Republican Party in the state but will not seek any statewide office in 2008 or 2009.

Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William County, left the gathering early without saying whether he would join Gilmore in the U.S. Senate contest, but GOP activists at the weekend retreat said Saxman's decision means that Gilmore now enjoys a fairly clear path to the nomination.

Gilmore declined to discuss Saxman's decision not to run, saying, "Anybody can choose to run for this that wants to. It's a long way to go, but my focus is on winning the general election against Mark Warner. That's been my focus all along."

Another potential Gilmore rival, 11th District Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, R-Fairfax County, said in October that he is not a candidate after the state party chose to pick its nominee at a May 31 convention among party activists rather than a June primary, which would have opened up easier participation for voters statewide.

Davis did not attend the retreat and pulled out of a $23,000 contribution to the event and speech after deciding not to seek the Senate nomination, party leaders said.

Gilmore spoke to the gathering of about 500 Republicans late Saturday and said Virginians will not elect a ticket of Hillary Clinton for president and Mark Warner for Senate.

"They will recognize that a Clinton-Warner ticket is liberal, partisan and do-nothing, and they are not going to support it," Gilmore said. "We must find a way to unify this party," he added.

He said Warner raised taxes in 2004 as governor after campaigning against increasing taxes.

Pledge drop pleases Allen

Allen said he was happy that the GOP State Central Committee decided to drop its decision to require a "pledge of intent" to support the eventual Republican nominee for president for voters to participate in the state Republican presidential primary on Feb. 12.

"I'm glad they did," Allen said of the decision to drop the pledge. "Requiring a pledge, heck, that would have grated me."

More independents could join Republican voters in a GOP primary without a pledge, Allen said. He favors registration by party and said he would recommend that with party registration the GOP should open its primaries to Republican and independent voters.

Party activists at the gathering said they expect Allen to run again for governor in 2009.

Tucker Watkins, a longtime 5th District GOP chairman, said he put the odds at "60-40" that Allen will run for governor in just over a year.

Asked about that, Allen said, "There's a lot of encouragement," but that he and his wife, Susan, had not yet made a decision.