Mitt Romney Clobbers All Other Candidates In Michigan Straw Poll

Mitt Romney left all the other candidates in the dust in the Michigan straw poll taken at the 29th Biennial Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference. He won the poll by a wide margin over other 2012 candidates:

Romney received 51 percent of the 681 votes cast, a whopping 34-percentage point victory over second-place Perry, who garnered 17 percent. It was the second straight defeat for Perry in a straw poll, after he finished second in another contest Saturday in Florida. The twin disappointments, along with weak debate performances, have raised questions about whether the Texas governor will remain the perceived front-runner in the GOP nomination fight.

Here's the breakdown of the polling: 

Mitt Romney 51%

Rick Perry 17%
Herman Cain 9%
Ron Paul 8%
Michele Bachmann 4%
Newt Gingrich 4%
Rick Santorum 3%
Jon Huntsman 2%

If you'd like an idea of what the voters who voted in the straw poll were like, read below:

The straw poll was conducted Friday and Saturday at the biennial Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference. Nearly 700 people cast votes in a poll that was open to all voting-age conference attendees, most of whom were party activists and elected officials. The straw poll is not a scientific survey and it does not necessary reflect the attitudes of Michigan primary voters at large.

Questions exploring the activists' ideological views suggest that while the delegation was overwhelmingly conservative, a strain of pragmatism drove their decision-making. For instance, half said they would be willing to support a candidate who would get the economy moving, even if that candidate supported abortion rights and same sex marriage.

While 80 percent said the tea party will help the GOP in the 2012 elections, 17 percent said they fear the movement could alienate independent voters. Two out of every 10 straw ballot voters hold a negative view of the tea party.

The delegates were split almost evenly on the question of whether they value the qualities of electability or ideological agreement most in a candidate, with ideology getting 51 percent of the vote.

It appears that getting the economy back on track was the primary concern among the voters and were pragmatic in choosing who they would support as President. Voters overwhelmingly supported Mitt Romney which indicates they believe he is the best candidate who can get this economy back on its feet.