RPA Straw Poll Results

Prior to this year, most folks would never have guessed there were so many Republicans in Arkansas. The Republican Party of Arkansas' Winter Leadership Summit was held Saturday at the Arlington Hotel Ball Room in Hot Springs. With the capacity to seat 800, it was a standing room only crowd.

The main event was certainly the Straw Poll for the seven announced candidates who hope to defeat incumbent Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln in 2010. Each of the seven candidates were given approximately seven and a half minutes to address the crowd and then attendees were allowed to vote for their choice to represent the Republican Party in next year's general election.

RPA Chairman Doyle Webb addressed attendees prior to the candidates' speeches and encouraged them to agree on a common goal of defeating Lincoln next year. And while a GOP candidate wouldn't be chosen until the primary next May, Webb hoped everyone would seek to choose the candidate most capable of accomplishing that mission in November 2010. He reminded the crowd, "Any Republican will be a better Senator than one who calls her fellow citizens un-American for expressing their constitutional rights."

All seven announced 2010 candidates for Lincoln's seat participated and their speeches can be heard in the videos below. The top three finishers in the straw poll were:

1. State Senator Gilbert Baker with 35% of the vote.
2. Curtis Coleman with 33% of the vote.
3. Colonel Conrad Reynolds with 23% of the vote.

Please vote in the poll below for your favorite of the candidates.