Politico: Herman Cain wins Florida poll, in blow to Rick Perry

[Patricia M. McBride]

Interesting since many articles say Romney won the debate............that was before the poll results came out, and apparently those who attended felt quite differently as Romney came in 3rd behind Cain and then, Perry!

Cain, a former Godfather’s Pizza executive has never held political office. | AP Photo Close

By ALEXANDER BURNS & MAGGIE HABERMAN | 9/24/11 6:10 PM EDT Updated: 9/24/11 6:35 PM EDT

ORLANDO — Herman Cain scored an upset victory in Florida’s Presidency 5 straw poll Saturday, dealing a blow to GOP presidential frontrunner Rick Perry, who made a strong push to win the event.

Cain, a former Godfather’s Pizza executive who has never held political office, gave a fiery speech to the Republican delegates here Saturday. Activists here acknowledged that Cain was unlikely to win the presidency, but rallied to his down-the-line conservative message.

 

“I don’t believe Herman Cain will be the nominee, but I hope that standing for some of the more conservative candidates sends a message that I hope will be embraced,” explained Kevin McNevin, a delegate from Sarasota, at a Saturday breakfast hosted by the Perry campaign.

Cain’s victory is a major disappointment to Perry, whose campaign has spent the last 48 hours attempting to recover from the candidate’s weak performance in Thursday night’s debate.

Perry supporters had hoped that by winning the straw poll, he could quiet some of the questions raised by his unsteady performance. But the Texas governor took just over 15 percent of the vote, finishing far behind Cain, who had 37 percent. Mitt Romney finished in third place, with 14 percent of 2,657 votes cast.

Despite the Perry campaign’s efforts, spokesman Mark Miner said they were not surprised by Cain’s victory, which he called a good day for “the conservative message.” Miner redirected the attention to Romney, said it was “devastating” to Romney’s campaign that Perry finished narrowly ahead of him.

 

read more here:  http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/64343.html