August 02, 2011 10:58 PM UTC

Is Herman Cain For Reals?

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• by: Colorado Pols

With all of the debt ceiling vote brouhaha, we didn’t get a chance to get to the Republican Presidential candidate straw poll in Colorado last weekend. The Western Conservative Summit, a three-day event held last weekend in Colorado, also included a straw-poll that saw 508 ballots cast (full press release after the jump). The results? Herman Cain took a ridiculous 48% of the vote:

The Denver Straw Poll ballot alphabetically listed the following announced and undecided Republican candidates. Their names and percent of votes follows:

Michele Bachmann- 9 %

John Bolton- 4%

Herman Cain- 48%

Newt Gingrich- 1%

Rudy Giuliani- 0%

Jon Huntsman- 0%

Gary Johnson-0%

Thaddeus McCotter- 0%

Sarah Palin- 1%

Ron Paul- 2%

Tim Pawlenty- 1%

Rick Perry- 13%

Mitt Romney- 10%

Rick Santorum- 10%

Paul Ryan received one write-in vote.

While these results may sound too good to believe for Cain, according to folks who attended the Summit, Cain had Republicans eating out of his former-pizza tossing hands (he was a guest speaker during the event). We don’t expect that Cain will eventually end up as the GOP nominee for President, but it’s beginning to look as though he might just be interesting enough to play a significant role in who does win the nomination.  

The results of the Western Conservative Summit 2011 Denver Presidential Straw Poll are in, and the winner is Herman Cain with  48 percent of the vote.  Rick Perry was the runner-up with 13 percent.

A total of 508 ballots were cast over the three-day conference. Results were announced at the closing session of the Western Conservative Summit 2011 held at the Denver Marriott City Center, 1701 California Street in downtown Denver.

Event organizer and Executive Director of the Centennial Institute John Andrews said,  “The Denver Straw Poll is the first test of 2012 presidential preferences among grassroots activists in Colorado and the Western states.  Conference attendees included Republican volunteers, Tea Party activists, conservatives and libertarians of all kinds, along with members of the faith comunity.

“To keep it fair,” Andrews added, “the straw poll ballot included a voting line for the only announced Democratic candidate, President Obama, as well as write-in options for any other Democrat and for any third-party candidate.”  

The Denver Straw Poll ballot alphabetically listed the following announced and undecided Republican candidates. Their names and percent of votes follows:

Michele Bachmann- 9 %

John Bolton- 4%

Herman Cain- 48%

Newt Gingrich- 1%

Rudy Giuliani- 0%

Jon Huntsman- 0%

Gary Johnson-0%

Thaddeus McCotter- 0%

Sarah Palin- 1%

Ron Paul- 2%

Tim Pawlenty- 1%

Rick Perry- 13%

Mitt Romney- 10%

Rick Santorum- 10%

Paul Ryan received one write-in vote.

Texas Governor Rick Perry (R), who is considering a run for U.S. President in 2012, and presidential candidate Rick Santorum (R-Pa) keynoted the opening night dinner session on Friday, July 29.

Herman Cain, another candidate, spoke this morning on the topic of “This Time, Real Change.” Cain is former chairman and CEO of Godfather’s Pizza and former chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

John Bolton, former US Ambassador to the United Nations, who has said he will decide in September about his 2012 White House bid, also addressed the delegates on Saturday morning, July 30. His topic was “Defending America in a Dangerous World.”

Western Conservative Summit 2011 is presented by Centennial Institute, a public policy think tank affiliated with Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, Colorado, and in partnership with 710 KNUS, The Daily Caller, Independence Institute, Colorado Union of Taxpayers, CitizenLink (part of Focus on the Family), Americans for Prosperity, the Heritage Foundation, Tea Party Patriots of Colorado, and 30 other conservative groups.

Summit co-chairs are John Andrews, director of the Centennial Institute, and Bill Armstrong, president of Colorado Christian University.  Andrews is a columnist for The Denver Post and is former president of the Colorado Senate and author of the recently released book Responsibility Reborn: A Citizen’s Guide to the Next American Century.  Armstrong is a former businessman and represented Colorado in the U.S. House of Representatives (1972-1978) and the U.S. Senate (1978-1990).

ABOUT THE CENTENNIAL INSTITUTE

at Colorado Christian University

The Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University works to enhance public understanding of the most important issues relating to faith, family and freedom.  As part of this endeavor, the Institute focuses its efforts on conducting research, analyzing public policy options and sponsoring seminars, conferences, and other activities that involve students, faculty, staff and outside experts. For more information: www.ccu.edu/centennial