McCain wins South Carolina straw poll

Looks like John McCain pulled it out in the late reporting precincts. Jonathan Martin has a specific explanation for why Duncan Hunter performed well.

There’s a clear gap here. I think that this tells us that Rudy Giuliani and McCain and the clear frontrunners. Mitt Romney’s 2nd-tier performance is quite shocking considering that he spent money on direct mail, phone calls, and ads.

CPAC next. My predictions are mentioned by Robert Bluey. Rudy and McCain, first and second.

Regardless of the actual meaning of straw polls, I think that this weekend, between CPAC and Spartanburg will act like the first Ames.