Cliff Stearns Continues Struggles with Tea Party in Straw Polls

Tea Party members continue to show their support for large-animal doctor Ted Yoho in the primary for the new District 3 congressional seat.

With 131 people casting ballots in a straw poll held Saturday at Olustee Park by the Lake City Tea Party, Yoho garnered 60 percent of the vote, followed by Clay County Clerk of Court Jimmy Jett at 17 percent.

State Sen. Steve Oelrich, R-Gainesville, came in third with 14 percent and U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Ocala, continued to struggle with the tea party crowd, taking 9 percent of the vote.

In previous straw polls held by tea party groups in the new district, in Gainesville and Gilchrist County, Stearns has attracted 10 percent of the vote.

The district includes: Alachua, Gilchrist, Levy, Dixie, Lafayette, Suwannee, Columbia, Bradford, Union, Hamilton and Clay counties, along with the eastern portion of Madison County and the north-western portion of Marion County.