McCrory Wins Hendersonville GOP Straw Poll

PRESS RELEASE

(Flat Rock) Charlotte Mayor Pat McCory scored big in the Hendersonville Tribune / West Wins straw poll at Wednesday’s gubernatorial debate at Blue Ridge Community College. The poll measured those in attendance on their feelings before and after the debate. Roughly half of the crowd of about 250 participated. The results were:

Before the Debate
Fred Smith 47 votes - 50%
Bob Orr 23 votes - 25%
Pat McCrory 12 votes - 13%
Bill Graham 11 votes - 12%
Elbie Powers No votes - 0%

After the Debate
Pat McCrory 54 votes 44%
Fred Smith 41 votes 33%
Bob Orr 18 votes 14%
Bill Graham 11 votes 9%
Elbie Powers No votes 0%

Some were undecided before the debate.
Some voted one way before the debate and another way after the debate.

West Wins Financial Director, Clifton Philbeck, said that Smith did
very well before the debate because, "He's been out here a lot. People
know him. They are familiar with him." He also said, "For some
people this is the first time they've heard (McCory) speak and he
connected well with them."
The straw poll was conducted by West Wins Political Action and
Education Committee for the Hendersonville Tribune. West Wins is a Republican organization dedicated to bringing attention to the needs of Western North Carolina.
West Wins Executive Director Larry Ford noted,"These are very
interesting results. We really didn't expect to see minds changed like they evidently were. The turnout, at 8:00 AM indicates that Western North Carolina is looking for somebody to represent us."
In addition to heading West Wins, Ford is also Vice Chairman of the
Henderson County GOP and Vice President of the Henderson County Republican
Men's Club, the two sponsoring organizations. The debate held at
Blue Ridge Community College, was sponsored by the Henderson County Republican Men's Club and the Henderson County Republican Party. There was no attempt to determine if everyone was likely to vote in the Republican primary.

West Wins Website