TheTexas Straw Poll was a non-bindingstraw poll of theTexas Republican Party for theRepublican Party's 2008 presidential nomination.Townhall.com sponsored the event on Saturday, September 1, 2007, inFort Worth. Five candidates including CongressmanDuncan Hunter of California, CongressmanRon Paul of Texas, mechanical engineerRay McKinney of George, attorneyJohn H. Cox of Illinois and psychiatrist Hugh Cort of Alabama, attended and addressed the voters.[1] In total, 1,300 votes were cast. Hunter won with 534 votes. Former SenatorFred Thompson of Tennessee, who did not address the event, finished second. Paul came in third.[2][3]
In 2011, organizers canceled a repeat of the event slated to determine preferences for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.
Voters were required to either have served as a delegate or alternate to a Texas Republican Party Convention in the preceding four years[1] or have served as a Texas delegate at either of the previous twoRepublican National Conventions. The results were non-binding.
| Place | Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duncan Hunter | 534 | 41.08% |
| 2 | Fred Thompson | 266 | 20.46 |
| 3 | Ron Paul | 217 | 16.69 |
| 4 | Mike Huckabee | 83 | 6.38 |
| 5 | Rudy Giuliani | 78 | 6.00 |
| 6 | Mitt Romney | 61 | 4.69 |
| 7 | Ray McKinney | 28 | 2.15 |
| 8 | John H. Cox | 10 | 0.77 |
| 9 | John McCain | 8 | 0.62 |
| 10 | Sam Brownback | 6 | 0.46 |
| 11 | Tom Tancredo | 6 | 0.46 |
| 12 | Hugh Cort | 3 | 0.23 |
| Total | 1,300 | [2] |
The 2011 poll was canceled due to a lack of candidate interest.[4]