Romney wins another straw poll

It's even less significant than his Iowa win Saturday, but Mitt Romney can still brag that he's two-for-two.

The Illinois Republican Party held a straw poll today at the State Fair in Springfield, and Romney led the pack with 40 percent. Fred Thompson, the former Tennessee senator who is not yet officially in the race, collected 20 percent, US Representative Ron Paul of Texas had 19 percent, and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani received 12 percent.

"Congratulations to Mitt Romney, whose strong showing today indicates he has begun to put together a strong statewide organization," state GOP Chairman Andy McKenna said in a statement released by the Romney campaign. "There's no question that Illinois' demographics closely match those of the United States and this could be an indication as to whom Illinois voters are leaning toward this coming February."

Fairgoers on Republican Day were allowed to pick one of nine candidates. It was the first straw poll held by Illinois Republicans, whose primary isn't until "Super Duper Tuesday" on Feb. 5, when big states such as California, New Jersey, and New York are also scheduled to vote.

Romney also won the traditional Iowa straw poll on Saturday with 31.5 percent of the vote, though his victory was lessened because Giuliani and Arizona Senator John McCain didn't campaign and because Romney vastly outspent his competition. The Iowa vote, however, did help end the campaign of former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson, who said he needed to finish in the top two, but ended up in sixth place.