The Texas Straw Poll was a non-binding straw poll of the Texas Republican Party for the Republican Party's 2008 presidential nomination. Townhall.com sponsored the event on Saturday, September 1, 2007, in Fort Worth. Five candidates including Congressman Duncan Hunter of California, Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, mechanical engineer Ray McKinney of George, attorney John H. Cox of Illinois and psychiatrist Hugh Cort of Alabama, attended and addressed the voters.[1] In total, 1,300 votes were cast. Hunter won with 534 votes. Former Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee, who did not address the event, finished second. Paul came in third.[2][3]
In 2011, organizers canceled a repeat of the event slated to determine preferences for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.
Voters were required to either have served as a delegate or alternate to a Texas Republican Party Convention in the preceding four years[1] or have served as a Texas delegate at either of the previous two Republican National Conventions. The results were non-binding.
| Place | Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duncan Hunter | 534 | 41.08% |
| 2 | Fred Thompson | 266 | 20.46 |
| 3 | Ron Paul | 217 | 16.69 |
| 4 | Mike Huckabee | 83 | 6.38 |
| 5 | Rudy Giuliani | 78 | 6.00 |
| 6 | Mitt Romney | 61 | 4.69 |
| 7 | Ray McKinney | 28 | 2.15 |
| 8 | John H. Cox | 10 | 0.77 |
| 9 | John McCain | 8 | 0.62 |
| 10 | Sam Brownback | 6 | 0.46 |
| 11 | Tom Tancredo | 6 | 0.46 |
| 12 | Hugh Cort | 3 | 0.23 |
| Total | 1,300 | [2] |
The 2011 poll was canceled due to a lack of candidate interest.[4]