Bob Gibson
Daily Progress political blogger

    Backers of several GOP presidential hopefuls other than Ron Paul said only Paul’s campaign “bused in” supporters for the informal straw poll that he won Saturday night at the Republican Party of Virginia’s annual Advance.

    “We didn’t really put any effort into this,“ said Randy Marcus, top staffer to Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, who backs Mitt Romney. “Ron Paul is busing people in.“
 
    Paul, a Texas congressman, captured 38 percent of the votes — 182 of 479 ballots cast — while former Tennessee Sen. Thompson received 112 votes. Former Sen. George Allen spoke for Thompson, while Janet Huckabee, wife of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, spoke for her husband, who finished third in the straw poll with 51 votes, or 10 percent.

    Romney finished a rather distant fourth with 45 votes while Rudy Giuliani received 43, John McCain won 23, Duncan Hunter got 19 and four ballots were cast for Tom Tancredo.

    Buses or not, it was clear that sign-carrying and boisterous Paul supporters took the straw poll seriously while other candidates did not do much to get their supporters to Arlington with $35 each to cast an informal ballot.

    Shaun Kenney, who left his job Saturday as spokesman for the state GOP to join a Catholic right-to-life group in Stafford County, said Paul has won more than 20 straight straw polls around the country in his efforts to show some real grassroots organizing strength and successful use of the Internet as a campaign tool.

    Bay Buchanan made the trip to Virginia to speak for Tancredo, who needed no buses for the four supporters who cast ballots for him.