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Despite Departure, Romney Edges McCain in CPAC Straw Poll

John McCain has a long way to go before he convinces conservatives to support him. The presumptive Republican nominee made up significant ground from last year in the 2008 CPAC straw poll, but he still finished second to Mitt Romney.

Romney dropped out the race at CPAC on Thursday afternoon, but that didn’t stop conservatives from supporting his candidacy. He defeated McCain, 35% to 34% with 1,558 votes cast. One year ago, McCain finished in last place among the major candidates with just 12% of the vote. CNN’s Political Ticker has the details:

Roughly one-quarter of the votes in the three-day CPAC 2008 straw poll were cast before Mitt Romney dropped out of the presidential race, and three-quarters after his withdrawal.

In votes cast before Romney left the race, he beat McCain 44 to 27 percent. Among votes gathered after Romney’s withdrawal, McCain led Romney 37 to 32 percent.

A former Romney campaign adviser quipped, “It is clear who the conservative choice was in this year’s Presidential election.”

I posted the complete breakdown of the 2008 straw poll from Fabrizio, McLaughlin & Associates below.