The New Hampshire Straw Poll is a

straw poll A straw poll, straw vote, or straw ballot is an ad hoc or unofficial vote. It is used to show the popular opinion on a certain matter, and can be used to help politicians know the majority opinion and help them decide what to say in order to gain ...

for the United States Republican presidential primary elections that was started in 2011 through promotion by ABC News and WMUR-TV. The first poll was held on Saturday, January 22, 2011, in

Derry, New Hampshire Derry is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 34,317 at the 2020 census. Although it is a town and not a city, Derry is the most populous community in Rockingham County and the fourth most populous in the ...

, a year in advance of the

New Hampshire primary The New Hampshire presidential primary is the first in a series of nationwide party primary elections and the second party contest (the first being the Iowa caucuses) held in the United States every four years as part of the process of choosi ...

, which as is traditional will be the first primary in the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination process. Voters in the poll were among some 400 members of the state Republican Party attending a meeting at the Pinkerton Academy in Derry. As with all straw polls, the results are in no way binding.

2011 poll

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

won the 2011 poll with 35 percent of the vote. Second was

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as well ...

with 11 percent, and third place was taken by Tim Pawlenty with 8 percent. They were followed by

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...

with 7 percent and Michele Bachmann and Jim DeMint with 5 percent each. Those with less than that included

Herman Cain Herman Cain (December 13, 1945July 30, 2020) was an American businessman and Tea Party movement activist within the Republican Party. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Cain grew up in Georgia and graduated from Morehouse College with a bachelor's d ...

, Rick Santorum, Mitch Daniels,

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U ...

Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (born August 24, 1955) is an American politician, Baptist minister, and political commentator who served as the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate for the Republican Party presidential nomina ...

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...

, and a number of others. Romney had been expected to win, based upon his geographical proximity to the state. Of the contenders, only Romney, Pawlenty, and Santorum had spent a lot of time in New Hampshire in the months preceding the straw poll, and only Cain was at the time an actual declared candidate.

2011 poll

Results

References

External links