The Washington Times today asks the question “Guess who won a straw poll?” and then answers it:
That would be former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Among 540 Minnesota Republican activists at the state party convention, Mr. Gingrich took nearly 40 percent in a straw poll of potential 2008 presidential candidates. Sen. George Allen came in a distant second with 15 percent. Is this the beginning of a political comeback for Mr. Gingrich, one that will lead him to the White House?
We have no idea, and it’s beside the point anyway. Straw polls, especially this early in the game, are poor indicators of what the public thinks about any given candidate. They are more for political activists and junkies who just like to have a little fun. For instance, Sen. John McCain and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, both Republican moderates, consistently lead national polls.
But we also shouldn’t totally discount Mr. Gingrich’s popularity among Minnesota Republicans as a blip. The best way to analyze Mr. Gingrich’s “win” is to say that it doesn’t look particularly good at this point for Beltway Republicans considering a presidential run. … Mr. Gingrich’s positive, ideas-filled vision, combined with his rhetorical gifts, has caught the favorable attention of conservative Minnesota Republicans. As the state party’s secretary-treasurer said after the straw poll, “This shows activists that Gingrich has the cachet to help set an drive the conservative agenda.”
The Times goes on to opine that Republicans looking to run in ’08 as moderates or centrists may be in trouble in the GOP primaries if voters have a viable alternative like Gingrich. But that is all a very long, long way off.
Not long off however, in fact coming up fast, is Gingrich’s visit to Charlotte on June 29th. The details on how to attend his Uptown lunch address can be found here.
