Rand Paul Just Shredded The Field In The CPAC Straw Poll

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul won the presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, the second consecutive year he has come away the victor.

Paul captured 31 percent of the vote, and his victory was much more sizeable than last year. Coming in second was Sen. Ted Cruz, who garnered 11 percent of the vote. Cruz upped his share of the vote from 4 percent last year.

Cruz was followed by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who captured 9 percent of the vote. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was fourth with 8 percent.

Paul supporters cheered the results, screaming, "President Paul!" The results came one day after Paul's well-received speech here. His victory was unsurprising, considering half the voters were between the ages of 18-25.

The CPAC straw poll has not been a good predictor of Republicans' chances at the presidential nomination. Some past winners include Rudy Giuliani, Steve Forbes, and Jack Kemp - all of whom flamed out spectacularly in the GOP presidential primaries.

Still, it provides a good barometer of the current feeling of the conservative base.

The poll was open from Thursday at 7 a.m. to Saturday at 1 p.m. - 2,459 cast a vote.