Forget AM radio. Herman Cain is hitting the road to pitch his bid for the presidency — and it may be working.
Cain delivered a speech at a Tea Party summit in Phoenix over the weekend, and was rewarded with a first place finish in the event’s straw poll, even topping higher profile candidates like Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney. Cain captured 22% of Sunday’s straw poll vote, followed by former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (16%) and Texas Rep. Ron Paul (15%).
Sarah Palin took fourth place in the poll at 10%, while Mitt Romney came in fifth at 6%.
The summit also held an online poll, which Paul won handily, snagging almost half of the 2.300 ballots cast, according to CNN.
In a sense, the results of the live straw poll aren’t too surprising. Cain, Pawlenty, and Paul all spoke at the event, while none of the other presidential aspirants attended. That exposure likely boosted each candidate, specifically Cain, who has struggled to breach one percent in national polls of the GOP primary.
Cain, a former pizza chain CEO who now hosts a talk radio program, was the first candidate to announce a 2012 presidential exploratory committee — a critical fund raising step that is usually one step shy of announcing a formal candidacy.