Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour won a presidential straw poll in the pivotal early primary state of South Carolina on Friday night.
The straw poll was conducted by the Charleston County Republican Party at its annual convention. Barbour, fresh off a trip to the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire, was the only potential 2012 candidate to address the crowd of nearly 200 GOP activists.
Barbour won 22 percent of the 148 votes cast. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney finished second with 12 percent.
In third place with 11 percent was former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who won another straw poll last weekend in socially conservative Greenville County. Social issues are less influential in Charleston, considered more fiscally conservative territory.
Full story: Barbour nabs straw poll victory in South Carolina