Ted Cruz seems to be very good at winning online straw polls.
Earlier this month, Cruz won the Hot Air Primary Survey for the second month in a row.
Last week, we conducted The Pulse 2016’s first straw poll, and Cruz absolutely dominated the competition.
Cruz received 146 out of the 367 votes cast (just under 40 percent), and no other candidate came close. Scott Walker and Ben Carson tied for a distant second place, each receiving 36 votes (just under 10 percent).
Obviously neither poll is scientific — and it would be ridiculous to draw anything significant from either of these online polls — but it does speak to the strength of Cruz’s grassroots online presence. Since formally announcing his candidacy for president, Cruz’s fundraising efforts have been blowing up in a big way. Much of his fundraising has come from small dollar donors — many of whom voted in these online polls. These are regular people who have been inspired by Senator Cruz’s message and motivated to donate to Cruz’s efforts and publicly campaign on his behalf.
Will this impressive online support translate to victory for Cruz at the Iowa caucuses or the New Hampshire primary? We’ll see. There’s a long way to go. But it should be noted that Cruz has been very impressive since his announcement in March. Don’t write him off.
Jon Schweppe is Deputy Director of Communications for American Principles in Action.
