Cain Wins Near-Majority in Presidential Straw Poll
of National Federation of Republican Women

Perry Places Second; Romney Third

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In a presidential straw poll taken at the National Federation of Republican Women’s (NFRW) 36th Biennial Convention on Oct. 1, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain took a near-majority of the vote.

Cain received 48.9 percent of the 505 total votes cast, with Rick Perry placing a distant second and Mitt Romney placing third. The poll featured nine Republican presidential candidates.

“In a straw poll with this many candidates on the ballot, it is unusual for one candidate to receive almost half of the votes,” said Karen Floyd, former chair of the South Carolina Republican Party and publisher of PalladianView.com, which conducted the poll. “It is very impressive.”

Straw poll voters consisted of Republican women activists from 41 states who were registered to attend the NFRW’s convention. “This straw poll is significant because the voters are Republican women from across the nation who are extremely active and influential in their states and communities,” NFRW President Sue Lynch said.

Following is the breakdown of the vote:

Herman Cain – 48.9%                        
Rick Perry – 14.1%
Mitt Romney – 13.3%                         
Newt Gingrich – 12.5%
Rick Santorum – 6.9%                       
Michele Bachmann – 1.4%                
Ron Paul – 0.6%                                
Gary Johnson – 0.4%
Jon Huntsman – 0.2%                        
Undecided – 1.8%

Each of these presidential candidates was invited to address the NFRW convention, which was held in Kansas City Sept. 29-Oct. 2. Cain, Gingrich and Santorum accepted the invitation and spoke on Oct. 1.

Full straw poll results are available at www.nfrw.org/documents/convention/2011/pollresults.pdf.

Founded in 1938, the NFRW has thousands of active members in local clubs across the nation and in several U.S. territories, making it one of the largest women’s political organizations in the country. The grassroots organization works to promote the principles and objectives of the Republican Party, elect Republican candidates, inform the public through political education and activity, and increase the effectiveness of women in the cause of good government.

- 30 -