By Fatima Seraj
The straw poll for most likely GOP 2012 presidential candidates at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans saw former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney win by just a single vote even though he wasn’t present at the Conference.
Romney came in first with 439 votes, closely followed by Rep.Ron Paul of Texas with 438 votes.Among other candidates were Sarah Palin with 330 votes and Newt Gingrich with 321.
Over the three-day conference, 1,806 ballots were cast. GOP national chairman Michael Steele spoke to the conference, trying to subdue public uproar about his management by admitting mistakes and vowing to learn from them.
"I am the first here to admit that I've made mistakes,and it's been incumbent on me to take responsibility to shoulder that burden, make the necessary changes, and move on," Steele said, resulting in a standing ovation.
