Duncan Hunter Runs Away With Texas Straw Poll, Paul a Distant Third

Mary Katharine Ham | September 01, 2007 4:44 PM

And, the Paulies wept.

Duncan Hunter doubled the totals of the next-closest candidate, garnering 534 of approximately 1,400 votes cast. Fred Thompson came in second with

266 votes, and Paul rounded out the top three with 217 votes.

Here are all the results:
Duncan Hunter: 534
Fred Thompson: 266
Ron Paul: 217
Mike Huckabee: 83
Rudy Giuliani: 78
Mitt Romney: 61
Ray McKinney: 28
John Cox: 10
John McCain: 8
Sam Brownback: 6
Tom Tancredo: 6
Hugh Cort: 3

Thompson had a very good showing, especially considering the Fred Head presence was fairly modest, and there were no campaign surrogates that I noticed. McCain, notably, beaten by two 7th-tier candidates. Ouch. And, the biggest ouch for Paul, who was unable to convert all that strange enthusiasm into a conventional win in his home state.

Hunter won because he showed up and shook hands, old-school style, all day yesterday and all day today. Only activists who've attended past conventions were allowed to vote, and they were receptive to his message and his commitment to the crowd.