RON PAUL WINS!!!  Important to realize this is the home of Tyson’s, Wal-Mart, George’s, J.B. Hunt’s and most of the infamous Arkansas Friendship Coalition organized to protect illegal alien slave labor.  They can down play it all they like, but this is very important!!

http://www2.arkansasonline.com/news/2008/jan/24/huckabee-gets-3rd-benton-county

Huckabee gets 3rd in Benton County GOP straw poll

By Laura Kellams (Contact)

BENTONVILLE - GOP activists in the most Republican of Arkansas counties handed former Gov. Mike Huckabee a third-place finish in a “straw poll” ranking of their favorite presidential candidates.

But many of those who voted in the informal poll at Tuesday night’s Benton County Republican Committee event said they don’t think Huckabee’s finish there will translate to a similar showing in Arkansas’ Feb. 5 presidential primary.

Huckabee’s campaign is counting on that.

“We’ve yet to campaign here for the Republican nomination,” his spokesman, Alice Stewart, said Wednesday. “Once we do, we expect to see support all across the state.”

Ron Paul came in first in the poll, in which committee members and guests were allowed to participate. Many of Paul’s supporters were first-time attendees at a Republican committee meeting. But Mitt Romney, one of Huckabee’s chief rivals for conservatives’ votes, also beat him, despite Huckabee’s personal ties to many who voted.

Paul took 52 of 142 votes, while Romney got 35 and Huckabee 30. John McCain came in fourth with 20 votes, and Rudy Giuliani had four. Fred Thompson came in last with one vote, despite having dropped out of the race earlier in the day.

State Rep. Donna Hutchinson of Bella Vista is a Romney supporter who helped produce radio advertisements in Iowa that blasted Huckabee’s record on illegal immigration. She said there’s a lot of disappointment with Huckabee among longtime Republicans in the party’s base of Northwest Arkansas.

The straw poll reflected that, she said.

“I think it indicates a problemthat has been below the surface that no one has talked about,” Hutchinson said. “A lot of Republicans are upset.”

She said they don’t like that Huckabee grew state government and advocated for illegal aliens to receive in-state tuition benefits. But they’re mostly displeased that he failed to build the party successfully in 10 years as governor.

“But he was our Republican governor, and people didn’t want to say too much [when he was in office],” Hutchinson said.

Jay Barth, a political science professor at Hendrix College in Conway, said the criticism of Huckabee’s party-building efforts is widely held, especially in Northwest Arkansas.

As the longtime party supporters, “they’re particularly conscious of a lost opportunity,” he said.

But they’re a minority statewide, Barth said. He has no doubt Huckabee will win the Republican primary in Arkansas, and hefigures it’ll be with a majority of the vote.

None of the other candidates are investing much energy here, plus, “Arkansas is the ultimate homer state,” he said.

Stewart said Huckabee told her that he’s proud of the work he did to support Republican candidates all across the state. But he’s also proud of working with people from both parties, she said.

Barth said he wasn’t surprised by Paul’s showing.

“He has incredibly fervent support,” Barth said.

Joel Jones of Bella Vista rallied Paul’s Benton County “revolutionaries” after hearing at the last committee meeting that a straw poll would take place this month. The other candidates’ supporters had just as much time to find people to come out to the meeting, he said.

“Either they don’t have the support, or they’re not as passionate,” he said.

Jones became a member of the committee Tuesday night and said he hopes the other Paul supporters will do the same, though he pointed out that some longtime committee members also voted for Paul.

County Chairman George Spence of Bentonville said he organized the straw poll for fun and to help build the party. The committee raised almost $1,000 at a chili supper that took place before the meeting, and a crowd including lots of unfamiliar faces overflowed into the hallway outside the group’s usual meeting room.

“You can’t over-interpret these results,” Spence said. “This is just one small slice. But we had a good time.”

State Sen. Dave Bisbee of Rogers, like Spence, cast his vote for McCain. A former Senate floor leader for Huckabee, Bisbee said after the vote that he was “thrilled” to see that Romney beat Huckabee.

Asked why, he said he didn’t want to say anything negative about the former governor.

“Well, I was the governor’s floor leader while he was governor, but this is president of the United States,” he said. Mc-Cain is the only candidate he’s comfortable supporting as commander-in-chief, Bisbee said.

He said he still thinks Huckabee will win the primary election here.

“But this shows it’s not going to be overwhelming,” he said.

Jonathan Barnett of Siloam Springs, a Huckabee appointee to the Arkansas Highway Commission, voted for the former governor. He said was disappointed that Huckabee couldn’t win the Benton County poll but said it’s no sign of things to come.

“I think there are a lot of people out there who still are going to vote for Mike. He’s going to do quite well in this state,” Barnett said.

This article was published Thursday, January 24, 2008.

Front Section, Pages 7 on 01/24/2008