Cain tops Romney in Nevada as Perry gains momentum

Natalie Gonnella
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In early June Herman Cain commented that he doesn't need to beat Mitt Romney, just Romney's money, and despite a number of recent 'bumps in the road,' the former CEO appears to be gaining traction with some conservative voters.

In this weekend's Washington Times/Conservative Leadership Conference 2012 survey in Nevada, Cain narrowly edged out the former Massachusetts governor, taking the straw poll's top spot with 24% of the vote. Romney finished closely behind with 21% support.

Prospective candidate Rick Perry placed third with 17% backing, with Tea Party darling Michele Bachmann right on his heels at 16%.

The 200 participants also voted on a random array of policy issues, with 51% also supporting the decrminialisation of marijuana.

Conservative Leadership Conference President Chuck Muth commented to the Washington Times that:

The results of today’s straw poll give us a strong indication of the direction that conservatives are heading...In 2010, we elected more conservatives to the state legislature than in previous years — an indication that the conservative movement throughout the state is growing.

While Romney and Bachmann have consistently polled at the top of the pack in a number of recent opinion surveys, with speculation growing about a possible Perry bid, it will be interesting to see how the numbers will continue to shift over the next few weeks, especially with Saturday's results offering further evidence that GOP voters have yet to pick a favorite.

Comments

[Matthew Reynolds]

Well done Herman Cain ! This proves the growing common-sense of the broader conservative movement in supporting a wise candidate with excellent freedom extending economic policies.

This is wonderful news and I hope that Mr Cain keeps fighting for sensible ideas to take America forward.After the socialism of the Bush era and the Marxism of the Obama regime having some truly sound conservative ideas would help dig America out of the hole that the far-left have got her into in the recent past.