Giuliani leads in Spartanburg County straw poll

SPARTANBURG, S.C. --In a sign of what die-hard Republicans may think of the field of presidential contenders, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was leading 10 other candidates Thursday in a straw poll in conservative Spartanburg County.

With 81 of 92 precincts reporting, Giuliani garnered 158 votes. California Rep. Duncan Hunter was running in a close second with 152 votes and Arizona Sen. John McCain was third with 116 votes, according to county GOP officials.

Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback had 83 votes, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had 80 votes and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee rounded out the front-runners with 21 votes.

The voting isn't binding and comes as the county party goes about the business of organizing precincts and ultimately sending people to its county convention and the state GOP convention in May.

People attending meetings starting at 7 p.m. could vote for one of 11 GOP candidates who have said they're running for the nomination or have set up exploratory committees.

Rick Beltram, the county's GOP chairman, said before the straw poll he expected fewer than 2,000 people to vote. After the voting, he blamed rainy weather for the low turnout and slow counting, which will resume Friday morning.

A spokesman for Giuliani said the numbers, while small overall, were encouraging.

"I think this is one small event of a very, very, long campaign, but it's a clear indication that the mayor's message of leadership and his proven track record is resonating," Elliot Bundy said.

Hunter's strong second-place showing proves his potential in a conservative area, his campaign said.

"What is such a relief to us is, we've always known we're the conservative alternative, and we kept hearing on the news that there's not a real conservative in the race," spokesman Roy Tyler said. "Well, there is now."

McCain's third place finish is not a reflection of his strength in South Carolina, campaign spokesman Adam Temple said.

"There's going to be many polls between now and election day," Temple said.

Romney's campaign said they were pleased with the former governor's finish.

"I think we outperformed where we've been, where all the public polls that had us at 5 and 6 percent," spokesman Terry Sullivan said.