Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul won the Maine Republican Convention straw poll capturing 26 percent of the ballots,
Politico reported.
The Bangor meeting saw some 690 ballots cast with 176 going to Paul. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz received 98 votes, or 14 percent, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker tallied 70 votes, or about 10 percent.
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The remainder of the ballots were distributed as follows: neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, 62; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, 60; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, 57; Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, 37; former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, 28; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, 26; and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, 21.
The convention also had write-ins: Texas Gov. Rick Perry with 17; former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, 10; Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, five; and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, 2.
In his message to state Republicans, Paul emphasized the need to broaden the party so that it can pull together a winning coalition, according to the
Portland Press Herald.
Paul said he had made no final decision about a presidential run. He was focused for now on helping the GOP win Senate races and expanding the party. "The Republican Party's got to be bigger for us to win more races."
"I won my primary with 64 percent of the vote, and since then, have worked with my senior senator in my state [Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell] to really try to forge a relationship where we're a bigger, stronger party," Paul said.
The senator said Republicans do not need to agree on every position. "We're a big political party. There's room for not-entire agreement on every issue."
Paul said he "wholeheartedly" endorsed U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine for re-election and shrugged off any differences they might have over National Security Agency surveillance, according to the Press Herald.
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