Gingrich wins Tea Party Patriots straw poll

{mosads}The win is an important one for Gingrich, who is struggling to hold together a coalition of conservative voters disenchanted with Mitt Romney. His participation in the group’s tele-forum was his lone campaign event of the weekend, with the exception of a conference call with reporters.

Gingrich also benefits from a following that says it is enthusiastic about voting for him. Of the voters in the Tea Party group’s poll, 58 percent said they were enthusiastic or extremely enthusiastic to vote for him, more than any other candidate. Bachmann trailed with 55 percent in those two categories, and actually edged Gingrich by a single percentage point in collecting “extremely enthusiastic” voters.