Sen. Rand Paul Wins CPAC Straw Poll
Paul led the field with 25.7 percent of the vote.
— -- Sen. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, was crowned the winner of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference-Washington Times Straw Poll for the third year in a row, it was announced today.
In a statement following the win, the Kentucky senator said he was "humbled by the enthusiastic support and encouragement I received."
Paul had gotten the crowd riled up, speaking with rolled-up sleeves, when he promised to pitch "a tax cut that will leave more money in the paychecks of every worker in America."
"My tax plan will keep the IRS out of your life and out the way of every job creator in America," he said Friday. "My plan will also cut spending and balance the budget in just five years."
Coming in a close second in the poll was Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker with 21.4 percent followed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Dr. Ben Carson and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who received 8.3 percent.
Coming in 10th place was New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who captured only 2.8 percent of the vote, getting beat by both real estate mogul Donald Trump and Carly Fiorina.
The poll asks participants who they favor to win the GOP nomination in the next presidential election. There were more than 3,000 participants.