Romney Wins Straw Poll

Mitt Romney has won the Iowa straw poll, widely regarded as a colander for presidential hopefuls, the Washington Post reports. Romney beat out a field of conservatives in the non-binding vote in Ames, but left-lilting frontrunner Rudy Giuliani had already bowed out of the race.

John McCain and Fred Thompson were also conspicuously absent from the vote in the early caucus state; a Romney aide claimed the narrow win as an indicator of the Mormon candidate's popularity with the Republican party's conservative base. "This keeps us in the game for a long time," he said. (More Mitt Romney stories.)