The Washington Times is reporting that the good news keeps coming for Herman Cain, who won the Western Republican Leadership Conference straw poll in Nevada on Friday, edging out Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich and leaving Rick Perry in a distant fifth place:
Mr. Cain, whose longshot campaign got a major boost by winning a major Florida straw poll last month, received nearly 31 percent of the vote, and Mr. Romney pulled in nearly 29 percent of the vote. Mr. Gingrich, who has also risen in recent national polls after his campaign’s shaky start, secured more than 20 percent of the vote. Texas Rep. Ron Paul finished with about 10 percent, Mr. Perry received almost 4 percent, and Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota received just 1 percent.
The results follow Mr. Cain's surprise victory in the so-called Presidency 5 straw poll in Orlando last month, which was seen as a big blow to Mr. Perry's front-runner status at the time.
Since then, the former businessman and Atlanta radio talk-show host has surged in the polls, stealing a lot of the conservative and tea party support that helped Mr. Perry leapfrog to the front of the GOP presidential field shortly after he entered the race in August.
Mr. Romney, meanwhile, has consistently stayed near or at the front of the pack in national polls as Mr. Perry has faded.
Cain certainly does have that je ne sais quoi that appeals to conservatives. But now is the time for him to bask in the glow of his victories, which to his credit are quite sizable and unexpected. His selection as a GOP nominee is still a long shot. Even conservatives know that the electorate is not interested in his xenophobic and divisive politics.
Read more at the Washington Times.
In other news: Scholar Rudolph Byrd Dead at 58.
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