Over 70 members and friends were in attendance at the Florida State Cabinet Race Straw Poll, put on by the Orange County Young Republicans at the offices of Gray Robinson in downtown Orlando this past April.
It was the second in a series of four straw polls that the organization has put on. The series started with the US Senate race between Marco Rubio and Charlie Crist in March.
Current Florida Attorney General and Orlando native Bill McCollum won decisively over his most notable opponent, ex-State House Majority Whip Paula Dockery. McCollum missed out on just 5 votes and garnered 86% of the vote in his landslide victory over the businesswoman.
Bill McCollum is a staple in Orlando politics, OCYR President Eddie Fernandez said. “We are proud to have him serve as our state’s Attorney General.”
While McCollum’s romp was impressive, it wasn’t the largest margin of victory on Tuesday. In a surprisingly similar fashion, Jeff Atwater won with almost 90% of the vote in his race for CFO over current State Rep. Pat Paterson, who tallied just 4 votes.
The tightest race and the closest to call was left unsettled afterwards, as attorney Holly Benson and state Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp tied for the race for the GOP nomination for Attorney General. Current Hillsborough County Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi also represented well, nabbing 7 votes. Orlando attorney Jim Lewis tabbed two votes.
Any current member of the Orange County Young Republicans is eligible to vote in the straw poll series, the first the organization has had with its members. Traditionally, the organization has a straw poll at its annual Hob-Nob every two years, but there is no membership restriction and the event is open to the public.
