League of Women Voters
of Salina, Kansas

Straw poll backs Brownback

Salina Journal

Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, who is seeking the Republican nomination for president, has the backing of Saline County residents — provided a poll taken last week during the Tri-Rivers Fair is accurate.

The organizers of the poll, however, take pains to note that their sampling is far from scientific. The poll by the League of Women Voters of Salina included just 177 votes cast for Republicans, and Brownback was the top vote-getter, with 52 votes. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was not far behind, capturing 44 votes. Fred Thompson, a television actor and former U.S. senator from Tennessee, was third with 25 votes.

On the Democrat side, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York was the leader, collecting 74 of 144 votes.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama was a distant second, with 33 votes. John Edwards, a former North Carolina senator and 2004 Democratic nominee for vice president, received 25 votes.

Of the 322 ballots counted — 36 were thrown out because instructions were not followed — 55 percent voted Republican and 45 percent chose a Democrat.