Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry Are 1, 2 and 3 in Conservative Straw Poll

Former corporation boss Herman Cain defeated former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in a straw poll of conservatives in Nevada Saturday, but, according to the Washington Times, the surprise was Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Cain and Romney have declared their candidacies for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012 but Perry has not. Nevertheless, he placed third in the straw poll conducted by The Washington Times and Conservative Leadership Conference in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson.

CLC President Chuck Muth told The Washington Times the poll shows that conservative voters are looking for one candidate around whom they can coalesce.

Perry has been showing increasing signs of becoming a favorite among conservative voters outside his state.

While Cain took 24 percent of the vote and Romney 21 percent, Perry picked up an impressive 17 percent.

Minnesota Rep. Michelle Bachmann, a declared nomination hopeful and another favorite among some conservatives, placed fourth with 16 percent and Texas Rep. Ron Paul was fifth with 8 percent.

Overall, said the Washington Times, Romney looks like the real powerhouse in the field at the moment. He leads the field of GOP hopefuls by 13.7 points in a Real Clear Politics average of the latest major national polls.

More than 200 conservatives attended the conference.

Read the story in The Washington Times.
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