ORLANDO, Fla. — In a startling embarrassment for the GOP presidential front-runner, Texas Gov. Rick Perry was tripped up by businessman Herman Cain in a straw ballot of Florida Republican activists Saturday that Perry had touted as an important measure of the field.
The vote has no bearing on the choice of a 2012 nominee. But along with recent campaign events, it is likely to increase the chances that the Republican contest will tighten.
It comes on the heels of a performance by Perry in a Florida debate Thursday night that disappointed conservatives, including delegates who came to Orlando expecting to back the Texas governor.
Cain received 37 percent of the 2,600 delegate votes, more than twice as many as Perry, who made by far the most extensive effort but finished a distant second with 15 percent. He barely edged out Mitt Romney, who did not compete here, at 14 percent.
Michele Bachmann, who scored a high-profile straw vote victory in Iowa six weeks ago, finished last, with less than 2 percent. The Minnesota congresswoman also chose not to compete.
Perry might have been hurt by his decision to leave town hours before the vote. (He was represented by a surrogate, as were other candidates.)
But interviews with delegates indicated a far more likely reason for Perry’s fall: his subpar debate performance, in which he fumbled answers and alienated social conservatives by calling critics of his immigration record in Texas heartless.
Cain, as he has done at similar activist events across the country, swept the crowd away with an impassioned speech urging thousands of delegates to “send Washington a message” that the nation is “ready for a problem solver, not another politician.”
The Atlanta businessman and former talk-show host was one of three candidates to appear in person. Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum were the others.
Going into the nonbinding popularity contest, Perry invested far more money and manpower than his GOP rivals. At a lavish buffet breakfast that his campaign provided to convention delegates Saturday, Perry said his rivals were making “a big mistake” to skip the event.
Florida GOP straw poll results
Herman Cain, 37 percent
Rick Perry, 15 percent
Mitt Romney, 14 percent
Rick Santorum, 11 percent
Ron Paul, 10 percent
Newt Gingrich, 8 percent
Jon Huntsman, 2 percent
Michele Bachmann, less than 2 percent
