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Mackinac Island, Mich. • Michigan native and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney clobbered his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination in a straw poll of party activists released Sunday, taking 51 percent of the vote.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who like Romney, addressed the GOP leadership conference Saturday at the Grand Hotel, was a distant second with 17 percent. Former Godfather's Pizza Chief Executive Herman Cain, who scored a surprise victory in a Florida straw poll Saturday, was third with 9 percent
Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, finished fourth with 8 percent; followed by Rep. Michelle Bachmann, R-Minn., with 4 percent; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia, 4 percent; former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, 3 percent; and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, 2 percent.
The poll was conducted by NationalJournal.com, which tabulated 681 total votes from registrants at a weekend conference.
Participants also were asked to select their personal favorite for a Republican vice-presidential candidate. Freshman Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida led that contest with 23 percent of the 481 votes cast. Cain was the second choice for vice president with 14 percent. That follows Cain's stunning victory in the Florida Republican Party's Presidency straw ballot Saturday.
The final tally in the Florida straw poll gave Cain 37 percent to 15 percent for Perry and 14 percent for Romney.