Fervent followers lift Ron Paul to Pasco straw poll win

Texas Congressman Ron Paul may be polling in the single digits nationally, but his Florida supporters were passionate enough to travel for hours to propel their candidate to a win in Pasco County's first-ever Republican Party straw poll.

Paul's supporters drove from Orlando, Sarasota, even Miami, to the Pasco County Fairgrounds to cast a ballot for their candidate, virtually guaranteeing a win for Paul.

With 171 votes, the Paul campaign more than tripled the showing for second-place candidate Newt Gingrich, who polled at 51. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was a distant third, with 30 votes.

"This is what Ron Paul does all over the state," said Bill Bunting, Pasco's GOP state committeeman. "They're organized and passionate. We had people here from as far away as Volusia County. I think it's unethical, personally."

Longtime Paul supporter Jeff Griffin, who lives in Land O'Lakes, said he ran out of "Ron Paul" stickers after handing out the first 200.

Former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain took Florida by storm in late September, winning the state's first straw poll in Orlando. That win propelled the former restaurant executive to front-runner status until a host of allegations ranging from sexual harassment to a decade-long extramarital affair forced him from the race.

"I was really bummed when Herman dropped out," said Roger Whidden, a Wesley Chapel resident who co-chaired Cain's Pasco campaign. Whidden switched his support to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich two days before the straw poll. "The organization in Florida is just coming together now, but we're going to hit the ground running," he said.

He manned the Gingrich table, which had considerably less activity than the Paul contingent. Whidden said he wasn't concerned about the results of the poll.

"When Newt visits this state between now and the presidential preference primary in January and speaks to the people in Florida, his numbers will go way up," he said.

Kathleen Lusk, a GOP precinct chairwoman from Hudson, said she was wowed by Cain in the early debates and voted for him in the Orlando straw poll. "I was hurt and disappointed" by the revelations of sexual impropriety, she said.

"I wanted someone different, but my backup was always Romney," Lusk said. "I really like his business experience."

Thirteen Republican names were on the ballot to oppose incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida. But only Adam Hasner, a former state house majority leader from Fort Lauderdale, attended the Pasco event to campaign in person.

Hasner has portrayed front-runner Connie Mack as a Washington insider.

"We're going to take back the majority in the Senate," he said. "2012 can't just be about electing a Republican. It has to be about electing the right Republican."

The fiery speech helped Hasner beat Mack by a 2-1 margin in the straw poll. Hasner had 115 votes to Mack's 57. No other candidate had more than 20 votes.