Ron Paul and Herman Cain Win Tea Party Presidential Polls

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul and businessman Herman Cain shared straw poll victories at a national tea party conference over the weekend.

Cain won a live straw poll conducted at the American Policy Summit in Phoenix, garnering 22 percent. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty took 16 percent and Paul placed third with 15 percent.

But Paul, who sought the Republican nomination in 2008, blew away the competition in an accompanying online poll, grabbing 50 percent. Cain trailed with 12 percent, Sarah Palin received 9 percent, Mike Huckabee got 6 percent, and Pawlenty and Gingrich each finished with 5 percent. A total of 1,592 votes were cast.

The results of both polls were announced after a weekend of meetings and speeches at the American Policy Summit in Phoenix. The three-day conference was conducted by Tea Party Patriots, a national tea group.

Paul, Cain and Pawlenty, a former Minnesota governor, spoke at the conference.

The online poll, which reportedly drew 2,300 total votes, was highly unscientific, as voters could cast multiple ballots via computer.

The mood at this summit shows that Tea Party activists are looking for leaders who share our principles of fiscal responsibility and limited government, and who will vow to uphold policies that reflect those principles once in office, Jenny Beth Martin, national coordinator of Tea Party Patriots, said in a statement.

In another straw vote, 52 percent of participants favored implementation of a consumption-based Fair Tax while 17 percent supported enactment of a Flat Tax. Eight percent said they would opt "either" and 21 percent backed "something else."

Paul, acongressman from Texas, won a presidential straw poll earlier this month at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney finished second in that poll. Both men appeared at the CPAC meeting in Washington, D.C.

Meantime, another online tea party poll shows House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan the favorite -- even though the Wisconsin Republican has expressed no interest in running for president.

The ongoing, online poll was created by Ryan Hecker, founder and organizer of the Tea Party Contract from America, and Scott Graves, president of Liberty Lab,