Ron Paul wins Ohio GOP straw poll by huge margin

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul of Texas won a landslide victory in the Ohio Republican straw poll conducted on Saturday.

Of the 428 Republicans who voted in the straw poll, nearly 54 percent cast their ballot for Paul. He was followed by businessman Herman Cain, who received about 26 percent of the vote.

Mitt Romney came in third place, with about 9 percent of the vote, and Newt Gingrich took fourth, with about 5 percent.

Rick Perry, Jon Huntsman, Rick Santorum, and Michele Bachmann each received less than 5 percent of the vote.

Paul, a libertarian, has gained an enthusiastic following for his strong views on limited government, free market economics and non-interventionist foreign policy. He has also recently become more vocal about his pro-life stance.

Paul recently and has beat his rival Republican candidates in a number of other straw polls this year. But he typically falls behind Rick Perry and Mitt Romney in traditional polls.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore