And the Winner Is ...

Results are in from the first Livingston County Democratic Party straw poll in the 2008 presidential campaign season and the winner is ...

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, by a landslide. Clinton won with 35.1 percent of the votes cast.

Her closest competitor was former Sen. John Edwards, with 18.9 percent. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson was third with 13.6 percent.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who usually is in the top tier in national polls, finished a disappointing fourth with 10.8 percent.

Tied for 5th, each with 5.4 percent, were Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, and undecided.

Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd received no votes.

Balloting was conducted with paper ballots. Every ballot was counted.

The Livingston County results are slightly different from a Sept. 5 presidential preferences poll taken by American Reseasrch Group. The Michigan results (from a sample of 600 likely primary voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent, were:

Biden 2%
Clinton 43%
Dodd 1%
Edwards 14%
Gravel -
Kucinich 2%
Obama 21%
Richardson 5%
Undecided 12%

Statewide, it's Clinton, Obama, Edwards, the same top three that prevails nationally. But in Livingston County, Richardson's third place finish, pushing Obama to fourth place, was a little surprising. Obama gets more press and is from a neighboring state. Does Richardson have a stealth organizing campaign going on here, operating under the radar?

A second round of balloting might produce different results. The county party's "Anticipate '08" event October 20 at Whispering Pines would be a good time to repeat the poll.