Lexington County GOP Straw Poll Favors Gingrich

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich received 50 percent of the ballots cast in a straw poll conducted Monday night by the Lexington County Republican Party.

Rich Bolen, chairman of the Lexington County GOP, said 86 people participated in the poll which was conducted during the group's Christmas party .

Gov. Rick Perry and Rep. Ron Paul tied for second place with 13 percent support each.

Bolen said the poll reflects the sentiments among a lot of the activists in the party, who are looking for someone with strong answers and quality debate perfomances. Gov. Rick Perry has suffered from the most slips in debate performances.

"I think it reflects the concern that we have a candidate who has good answers for questions when asked," Bolen said. "That's what propelled Newt Gingrich to first place and that he's able to make a reasoned opinion or answer whenever he's asked on virtually any subject.

"As you've seen, several of the other candidates have been a little weak in various areas when they've been asked questions."

Bolen, who said he is a supporter of Gingrich, said he wasn't surprised that Gingrich came out in first place, but was surprised by the margin between him and the other candidates.

The results of the poll were:

In the , Gingrich also was named the clear frontrunner.