Ron Paul Wins Maryland Straw Poll

The Maryland Republican Party’s first-ever presidential straw poll at the State Fair resulted in nearly 1,000 Marylanders casting a vote for their favorite Republican candidate for president. And the winner was: Ron Paul.

While most campaigns didn't have a representative present, the Ron Paul campaign had full representation for all eleven days. Paul came in first place with 263 votes, Mayor Rudy Giuliani was second with 220 votes, and Senator Fred Thompson received 188 votes, which garnered the third place spot.

The rest of the votes were cast as follows:
89 votes for Governor Mitt Romney
54 votes for Senator John McCain
35 votes for Governor Mike Huckabee,

Chris Cavey, First Vice Chairman of the Maryland GOP, stated the following: “The final vote showing Ron Paul won is a lesson for all campaigns of how grassroots politics can make all the difference. The Paul campaign repeatedly e-mailed their base of support to turn out at the State Fair to cast a vote for Dr. Paul, and in doing so, demonstrated that a small organized operation can beat the odds.”

Looks like Paul's Viral Campaigning has made quite an effect - at least at this local level thus far. We'll continue to monitor. Read more from the Maryland Republican Party here.