NORTH COUNTY -North County Times – U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter’s long-shot bid for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination got a boost over the weekend when he emerged on top in a straw poll of Republican precinct committeemen in Arizona’s most-populated county.
Hunter, R-El Cajon, got 96 votes among the 458 ballots in the non-binding poll of Maricopa County party officials asked to list their first choice for president.
Hunter easily beat Arizona’s own U.S. Sen. John McCain, considered a front-runner in the GOP presidential race, who drew a comparatively paltry 50 votes. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney came in second in Saturday’s poll with 82 first-place votes.
Campaigning in South Carolina on Monday, Hunter said he believes his long-held positions on two key national issues carried the day with the conservative Arizona Republicans from the county that includes Phoenix.
“It’s great news,” Hunter said during a telephone interview. “I think the message of a strong national defense and border security issues has resonated in Arizona.”
Yeah, well, what it also says… and Hunter is gracious enough not to… is that John McCain does NOT represent a strong national defense and border security issues. The “Gang of 14” nonsense didn’t set well, either, as I suggested it would not.
NOW, the issue is, do the Republicans run someone better qualified for his seat, or do we simply turn it over to the Democrats at the next election?
Tags: BitsBlog, Elections, Republicans
