Herman Cain Wins Tea Party Straw Poll

Herman Cain—currently the only declared GOP candidate for 2012—came in first in a straw poll of Tea Party supporters at an event in Phoenix yesterday. The conservative radio host from Georgia received 22% of the on-site ballots cast at the event organized by the Tea Party Patriots, the Los Angeles Times reports. Ron Paul came in third place in the vote among attendees but was the winner by a hefty margin in an online poll (Cain took second).

Tim Pawlenty came in second and Sarah Palin came in fourth in the vote at the summit itself. The Alaskan was the only one out of the top four who didn't speak at the event. A Tea Party Patriots co-founder says the group is still looking for the right candidate for 2012. "The mood at this summit shows that Tea Party activists are looking for leaders who share our principles of fiscal responsibility and limited government," she says. (More Election 2012 stories.)