Tea Party Straw Poll Shows Adam Hasner Leading GOP Senate Field

A straw poll by Tea Party Fort Lauderdale gave former Florida House Majority Leader Adam Hasner 50 percent of the first-place votes in the crowded GOP contest for U.S. Senate.

Hasner collected a commanding 62 percent of the first- and second-place ballots cast in the May 7-14 survey.

Mike McCalister had the next-best showing, garnering 12 percent of the first-place votes and 24.5 percent of the second-place ballots.

George LeMieux collected 10 percent of the first-place ballots and 19 percent of the second-place votes, a disappointing result considering the former senator from Fort Lauderdale had "home-field advantage."

Mike Haridopolos took the biggest hit, however. The state Senate president pulled only 1 percent of the first-place votes and 3 percent of the second-place ballots.

Still, the tea party poll indicated that the field is still wide open. "Undecided" was selected by 23.5 percent of respondents and 38.5 percent chose that option as their second choice -- a total that tied Hasner's haul.

The unscientific straw poll surveyed 197 tea party members over the past week.

Danita Kilkullen, head of Tea Party Fort Lauderdale, said Haridopolos' "shortcomings during the just-completed 2011 session continue to haunt him.One glaring example is the shell game he pulled on Florida citizens on the E-Verify/illegal immigration bill."

Though Haridopolos has been a prodigious fund-raiser, leading the field in contributions collected during the first quarter, he was unable to deliver a promised E-Verify law when the Senate's watered-down measure was ignored by the House in the closing days of the session.

Kilkullen said members of her group expressed suspicion that the "Republican establishment is once again attempting to choose the nominee."

"Havent they learned in recent history from the Crist-Rubio and McCollum-Scott debacles just to name a few?" she asked.

Last year's TPFTL straw poll went heavily for Rick Scott over party favorite Bill McCollum in the GOP primary contest.

Reached Sunday evening, Hasner senior adviser Rick Wilson told Sunshine State News:

"I think this shows that Adam's principled, conservative message is resonating with activists across Florida. They know he'll stop the spending, control the borders and stand up for conservative values in the U.S. Senate."

Meanwhile, McCalister said, "We are quite pleased to place a strong second place in two of the other candidates' backyard."

Neither LeMieux nor Haridopolos was immediately available.