Paul Wins Values Voter Poll Straw Poll

In an upset victory Saturday, Rep. Ron Paul won the straw poll at the annual Values Voter Summit, a gathering of conservative Christians in Washington, D.C., Paul took 37 percent of the vote, followed by Herman Cain with 23 percent, Rick Santorum with 16 percent, and Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann each with 8 percent. Paul's win was a surprise because the vote generally goes to outspoken social conservatives, with whom the purist-libertarian Paul has a number of disagreements. Last year's staw poll victory went to Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana. In a press conference after the announcement, however, an organizer said that he suspects ballot stuffing led to Paul's victory. He said that 600 people reportedly registered Saturday morning and then left after Paul spoke. There were 1,983 ballots in total.