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1. Winning CPAC once meant little, but are Rand Paul's multiple wins just the ticket?

Rand Paul won his third consecutive CPAC presidential straw poll this weekend, and most political journalists yawned -- and understandably so.

There have been 20 previous CPAC straw polls, and only in four of those cases has the winner ended up as the Republican presidential nominee. And in all four of those cases, it was in the actual election year.

Never has a winner in the year before the presidential vote -- like this year -- gone on to win the nomination. So Sen. Paul shouldn't rush to measure the White House drapes.

But he is now in special company: He's in a tie for CPAC wins (three) with Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp. Mitt Romney is the all-time leader with four CPAC wins. Ron Paul has two.

So winning once is more or less meaningless, but winning twice or more? The Pauls -- Rand and Ron -- are the only two men with at least two CPAC wins who have not appeared on the GOP ticket. (Kemp was Bob Dole's VP nominee.)

It's one more way, we can assume, that Rand Paul hopes to get some separation from his dad heading into 2016.

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Washington will be consumed this week with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress and the continuing fight over funding the Department of Homeland Security.

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A CPAC history lesson: How Rand Paul could be like Ronald Reagan

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul won the Conservative Political Action Conferences straw poll for the third year in a row Saturday, while Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker placed second, reflecting his surging popularity.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush placed fifth, with just over 8% of the vote. Mr. Bush is considered a frontrunner for the GOP nomination in 2016 but is seen as too centrist by some in the partys conservative wing. On Friday, Mr. Bush sought to woo conservatives at the three-day CPAC conference, addressing questions about his policy positions that are at odds with those of the GOP base, such as his support for the Common Core national education standards and for granting legal status to illegal immigrants.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and conservative neurosurgeon Ben Carson, both favorites of the young conservatives who attend CPAC every year, landed in third and fourth place in the straw poll, respectively.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christies standing among conservatives fell sharply in the last year to 10th place in the survey, down from fourth in 2014.

Mr. Pauls win, with nearly 26% of the vote, was widely expected and not necessarily indicative of the views of the party as a whole. Conservatives who vote in the CPAC straw poll tend to be younger than the rest of the party, and the conference draws a large share of libertarian-leaning Republicans who see Mr. Paul as a champion of libertarian ideals.

In 2014, Mr. Pauls win was broader, with 31% of the vote. Mr. Pauls father, former Texas Rep. Ron Paul, won the poll in 2010 and 2011 but has never come close to winning the GOP presidential nomination.

With 21% of the vote, Mr. Walkers silver medalup from sixth place last yearcomes as two polls in the early-nominating state of Iowa show him topping the field.

At the CPAC conference on Thursday, he had sought to paint himself as a fighter for conservative causes, saying he had stared down protesters in Madison as part of his effort to scale back the powers of Wisconsin public-sector unions.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio won 3.7% of the vote. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry had 1.1%, and 0.9% went to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.

More than 3,000 conservatives cast votes in CPACs poll between Feb. 25-27.

Read more here:
Rand Paul Wins CPAC Straw Poll

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Published February 28, 2015

Feb. 27, 2015: Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Md. (AP)

Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul won the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll for potential GOP White House candidates for the third consecutive year.

"Our party is filled with constitutional conservatives who have chosen to stand with me for a third consecutive straw poll victory," Paul said. "Since President Ronald Reagan, the (conference) has been the gold standard on where conservatives stand. The constitutional conservatives of our party have spoken in a loud and clear voice today."

Paul finished with 26 percent of the vote, ahead of Wisconsin GOP Gov. Scott Walker, who finished with 21 percent of the vote.

Former Florida GOP Gov. Jeb Bush, a popular establishment candidate who has struggled to reconnect with conservatives, finished in fifth place, with 8 percent of the vote.

The poll was conducted over the conferences three days of seminars and speeches by most the leading potential Republican candidates. CPAC organizers said 11,344 people attended the event in Oxon Hill, Md., that 3,007 people participated in the poll and that 42 percent of the voters were students.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, consider a top-flight candidate since the 2012 presidential elections, finished 10th with 2.8 percent of the vote.

His would-be candidacy has since been plagued by the political scandal known as BridgeGate, an up-and-down state economy and his reputation of being a hot head.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz finished in third place with 11.5 percent of the vote, followed by retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson in fourth with 11 percent.

Excerpt from:
Rand Paul wins 2015 CPAC straw poll | Fox News