One of the more interesting sideshows at the Lonoke County Fair last week was a straw poll by the local Republican Party committee asking fairgoers about their preferred presidential candidates.
Keep in mind, it wasn’t a scientific poll, and tallies were made by placing pieces of plastic straws into fishbowls. But there were some predictable results nonetheless, as reported by Chuck Eick, who serves on the Lonoke County Election Commission.
Out of 227 votes cast, Donald Trump and Ben Carson tied with 26 percent of the vote.
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee received just 16 percent, a poor showing in his home state, or it was home before he moved to Florida. Carly Fiorina had 11 percent, Sen. Ted Cruz got 8 percent and Marco Rubio received 6 percent.
The rest of the candidates — Jeb Bush, Sen. Rand Paul, Gov. Chris Christie and John Kasich — received 2 percent or less.
“It was interesting sociologically,” Eick said. “It reflects the national trend. It is going to be an interesting election year. Some people were excited, while some wanted nothing to do with the candidates and walked away.” Maybe they were Democrats.
