Donald Trump ran away with victory in a Jan. 22 straw poll of GOP rank-and-file conducted at the monthly Arlington County Republican Committee.
With the straw-poll ballot including all names on the Virginia Republican presidential-primary ballot (including a number of candidates who have withdrawn), Trump received 60.5 percent, Nikki Haley 23.7 percent, Ron DeSantis 10.5 percent and Texas minister Ryan Binkley 5.3 percent.
De Santis has dropped out of the race, as have Vivek Ramaswamy and Chris Christie, who did not receive any votes.
Arlington GOP chair Matthew Hurtt noted that the poll was “totally unofficial and non-scientific,” but that turnout at the meeting had been “one of our best . . . in recent memory.”
While representing the decidedly minority party in Arlington, and with the possibility that the March 5 Virginia presidential primary could come well after the GOP’s nominee is a foregone conclusion, Hurtt is hopeful to recruit primary voters into the local GOP fold.
“I expect thousands of Arlington Republicans will go to the polls,” Hurtt said. “I plan to reach every voter who participates in our presidential primary, asking them to become more involved in our efforts.”
