Cruz Wins Minnesota GOP Straw Poll

MONTICELLO (AP) — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has easily won a straw poll of Minnesota Republican activists.

Cruz finished first among 14 Republican candidates in the poll at the Minnesota GOP State Central Committee meeting Saturday in Monticello. Cruz claimed 90 votes. That was almost twice the votes for the second-place finisher, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who had 46 votes. Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina came in third.

GOP front-runner Donald Trump finished fourth in Saturday's straw poll, followed closely by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.

Minnesota is one of a dozen states that will hold a primary or caucus on Super Tuesday March 1.

State GOP chairman Keith Downey says he sees Saturday's vote as an early sign of which campaigns to watch in the coming weeks.