1) Dr. Ben Carson won the straw poll handily, thanks to his having the biggest organized effort. His campaign bought a booth and bought 100 tickets, to allow supporters to attend for free. Many of these supporters came in from out of state. All told, Carson won about 240 votes.
2) The biggest winner may have been Wisconsin Gov. Walker, who finished a close second, with about 200 votes. He had no organized effort to win the straw poll, but he still won the most votes among Oklahomans in the crowd. His Friday afternoon speech was spot-on and well delivered. His strong showing reflects that the good will Walker garnered through his fights in Madison, Wis., sill buoy him, even after other conservative stars have entered the race.
3) Sen. Ted Cruz was a big reason many conservatives attended the event — he was slated to be the keynote speaker, and is something of a superstar, but he had to miss the confab for Senate votes. Cruz’s campaign ran a small but clever operation to try and win the straw poll. A third-place finish for a no-show isn’t bad.
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