Gop, Straw Poll | featured news

In the days since Republicans lost an election many in the party thought was theirs, chatter has been bubbling about what the GOP should do to recover. For Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, it starts with the smallest of actions: abandoning the state's now-infamous straw poll.

Newt Gingrich emerged the winner in a Sunday night straw poll of tea party voters after he and three other Republican presidential candidates courted more than 23,000 activists during a tele forum sponsored by the Tea Party Patriots coalition.

Ron Paul was declared the winner on Saturday of a weeklong Republican presidential straw poll in Democratic President Barack Obama's home state of Illinois.

After watching the ups and downs of the Republican presidential campaign from the sidelines since mid-August, Tim Pawlenty voiced second thoughts Monday about his decision to pull out of the race after a third place showing at the Ames straw poll.

Former pizza executive Herman Cain surprised rival Rick Perry with an upset victory on Saturday in a Republican presidential straw poll in Florida, dealing a disappointing loss to the Texas governor two days after a shaky debate performance.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul won a California straw poll, the state Republican Party announced in a statement Saturday night.

The former Minnesota governor finished a distant third in the GOP's Ames Straw Poll in Iowa.

Michele Bachmann captured the famed Iowa straw poll in Ames Saturday, reaching a high-profile benchmark in her meteoric rise to a top-tier presidential candidate.