The Jefferson County Republican Party held a straw poll today in Gardendale ahead of the 2014 Republican Party Primary elections, which are set to take place June 3.
Straw poll results are not always an accurate predictor of what’s going to happen on election day, but are often a reflection of each campaign’s organizational skills. Some candidates are also much more well known and supported among the Party factions that participate heavily in straw polls than they are with the electorate as a whole.
For instance, Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul finished in the top two spots in the well-known and widely-attended Ames Presidential Straw Poll in Iowa in 2011, but neither came anywhere close to becoming president. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney finished seventh but ultimately won the GOP nomination.
That said, it is always preferable to win than to lose, and campaigns can use the small victory to get some press and build momentum.
Here are some notable results from today’s Jefferson County Republican Party straw poll:
AL-06:
The 6th Congressional District is this year’s marquee race. Demarco took the straw poll victory (154 votes), which was expected. He’s a longtime member of the Jefferson County Republican Party Executive Committee and a faithful attender of just about every GOP meeting that takes place in the district. Brooke came in second (107 votes). No one else was really close, growing the narrative that DeMarco and Brooke are destined to meet in a runoff if Beason (3rd — 62 votes) can’t muster the votes among Tea Partiers to make it in himself.
PSC — Place 2:
Beeker had an extremely strong showing, winning the straw poll with 110 votes. No one else cam anywhere close to triple digits. But the most notable takeaway in this race may be that the incumbent, Commissioner Terry Dunn, came in dead last out of the four candidates.
Sitting commissioner Jeremy Oden easily bested Kathy Peterson in the PSC — Place 1 straw poll, 205-80.
Secretary of State:
Former Montgomery County Probate Judge Reese McKinney won the straw poll with a very impressive 147 votes. Rep. John Merrill was right on his heels with 120 votes, with Jim Perdue trailing far behind with 54. This race is shaping up to be one of the most competitive of this election cycle.
“We were honored to have Governor Bentley and Lt. Governor Ivey attend our Straw Poll,” said Jefferson County GOP Chairman James Matthews. “The event was well attended by candidates from across the county and state. It is encouraging to see the energy in our Party and the well qualified slate of candidates in our primary. We are blessed to have many strong leaders in our Party.”
The full list of results are below.
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
