Former pizza executive Herman Cain surprised rival Rick Perry with an upset victory on Saturday in a Republican presidential straw poll in Florida, dealing a disappointing loss to the Texas governor two days after a shaky debate performance.
Perry, leading in the polls for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, had needed a victory in what was an early test of strength to salve the wounds left over from a debate with his rivals on Thursday in which he struggled.
Instead, former Godfather’s Pizza executive Cain, who is far behind the two top-tier candidates Perry and Mitt Romney, won with 37 percent of 2,657 votes cast.
Perry was a distant second at 15 percent, just ahead of Romney, who won 14 percent despite not participating in the poll. Further back were Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman and Michele Bachmann.
I’ve got to admit, I am becoming a little paranoid here. You would expect that the Sunday talking heads shows would be falling all over themselves to get an interview with Cain, the upset victor in Florida’s Straw Poll. On ABC, they talked about Perry and Romney as if it were a 2-man race. Only Donna Brazil let it slip that Cain won the straw poll, and I only heard that because I was listening to hear Cain’s name.
I have not finished David Gregory’s show yet, but so far, I don’t believe that Cain was even mentioned.
So, how is it, I recall that at least 2 people pointed out, the winner of the Florida Straw Poll would be our nominee, but now, when that winner is Herman Cain, I feel like the story got buried?
If O’Reilly says one more time that this is a two-man race, especially after Florida, I think that I will flip out.
Did anyone see this mentioned in the news? The results of this poll strike me as being rather noteworthy.
@gary kukis:
OReilly is an establishment type Republican. He snobbishly discounts as “unelectable” any candidate that the party leaders (D & R) don’t endorse, and he is not supportive of the Tea Party.
However, I understand that Dennis Miller now supports Cain.
It’s too bad when Fox news ignores the dark horse, and only supports the rich and powerful. Immigration liberals like Perry and healthcare socialists like Romney are not the only candidates the Republican Party has to offer. Is this O’Rielly’s sense of democracy?
@Jim: I do like Bill O’Reilly. I chalk this up to him being too short-sighted in this regard, rather than being an establishment Republican. I am disappointed that he has said, on more than one occasion, that Cain does not have a chance (along with all of the others in the race besides Romney and Perry).
On the other hand, FoxNews, insofar as I am aware, is about the only news outlet which has spent some time talking about Cain’s win in Florida. It was virtually ignored by “This Week” and “Meet the Press” (apart from one off-handed comment from a guest). You can bet, a week later, that they will ignore this again.
However, look to Dennis Miller to possibly say something to O’Reilly tonite about Citizen Cain. “It’s not just a two-man race, Bill.” Or words to that effect.
In the past, there were very few people who paid any attention to the primaries; and the Republican party essentially gave us our candidate. This is no longer the case. Sure, 70% of Americans may not be engaged, but there are enough people watching who realize that who we choose in the primary is key; and that we do not have to choose the establishment candidate ever again.
Furthermore, there are enough people on the left watching, to indicate that they know this primary is key. I have seen a number of people on the left on FoxNews repeat the mantra, “This is a two-man race: Perry and Romney.” That is what the left wants; they do not want Cain to be Obama’s opponent.