Six candidates enter, One candidate leaves: The Results of The Bull Elephant’s first candidate poll!
Big (but not unexpected) win for Barbara Comstock with almost 62% of the total vote in a six-way race. Obviously this is not scientific, and the electorate in this online poll does not at all closely resemble who will show up on Saturday for the party canvass. But still good news, and it shows a good deal of enthusiasm among GOP voters who skew younger (the majority of TBE’s readership is under 34 years old).
Further, just as conventional wisdom would tell us, Bob Marshall came in second. Marshall is a force to be reckoned with in this race, and I think too many people sell his chances short. He’s going to be working it very hard, and though he does not appear to have as wide a base of support as Comstock, his support is definitely deep and very motivated.
Howie Lind came in a depressing 4th place behind 10th district newcomer (and debate standout) Stephen Hollingshead. And the elusive Rob Wasinger made a prophetic showing by not coming in last, and instead tying for next to last with Marc Savitt for that ignominious honor.
Thanks to all who voted!
METHODOLOGY NOTE:
As I mentioned in this space earlier, I made a couple of rookie mistakes in the way I setup this poll. That allowed a relative handful of people to cast more than one vote. As promised, these results reflect just one vote per IP address, regardless of how many times some people voted.
A couple of the people who cast more than one vote cast many more than one vote, which skewed the final percentages more than I expected. This is why the final totals do not include actual vote counts: The mistake here was mine, and I don’t believe any campaign should needlessly be exposed to embarrassment for what one or two of their supporters did simply because I didn’t set up the poll correctly to begin with. That’s my fault, not theirs. These results are accurate, even if somewhat different than what some may have expected. Please accept my apologies.
88 comments
why does everyone want just another “insider” politico to represent them? Business as usual? No thanks. I’m going with Lind.
“The mistake here was mine, and I don’t believe any campaign should needlessly be exposed to embarrassment for what one or two of their supporters did simply because I didn’t set up the poll correctly to begin with.”
Interesting.
Can you give the excessive and unwarranted imputation of sinister motive a rest already? This blog isn’t even nine months old yet, and is an all-volunteer effort by everyone involved; this won’t be the last technical issue we’ll encounter as the blog develops further in popularity.
I’m happy to know Bob got 890 votes in the straw poll. Don’t get me wrong… Look at it like this… If we lose, it will be like I was never here. If we win… We’ll be best friends and I’ll help you with your IT issues.
I couldn’t believe that at tonight’s Fairfax County Committe meeting Howie actually announced the location for his “victory” party… I hope he didn’t make reservations for more than the 10 people that voted for him on this poll 😉
That’s rather mean spirited Marta.
Actually, Janine, what’s mean-spirited is the constant barrage of lies and attacks launched by Howie against Barbara. No comparison at all here!
A candidate in search of an office. Lind received an extensive briefing on the ramifications on what the political landscape will be, regardless of what happens in the 2014s and the 2016s. He understood that and I thought he got it when he was presented an honorable out of the Senate race. All of his previous great work was undone by his entry into the federal level VA-10th race and the conduct of his campaign. The most egregious is the bait and switch of taking donations meant for one race, not returning them and using them in this one. That’s breach of contract/trust and goes deeper then just a difference on policy on liberty and freedom, this violates trust. Time and again, congressionals show they are on the take. We don’t need to elect one already on the take.
Ouch! So true and on point. With his lies about the front-runner, and his jumping willy nilly from one race to the next, he’s not kidding anyone into believing he’s running to serve his constituency. This is all about Howie. And investing $120k of his own money into a race where he’s coming in last of all 6 candidates? Stupid!
Is this a scripted conversation? Way to set Marta up for that one 🙂
nope, not scripted Randy. Barbara is a voting member of the FCRC.
Thank you.
So is Barbara a voting member of the LCRC? If not, where does she hang her hat?
Where to vote? …is it over early? Bob Marshall is my man.
COMSTOCK FOR CONGRESS? YOU BET!
START WITH YOUR PRIMARY VOTE THIS SATURDAY APRIL 26TH
Besides fighting for lower taxes and eliminating waste, besides her legislation like right to work, offshore drilling, her telework (at home) bill, competitive
bidding, secret workplace voting, and fighting for pro-jobs legislation,
Virginia Delegate Comstock’s formation of a Young Woman’s Leadership Program
tells me she’s not just pie-in-the-sky palaver, but a gifted woman who
validates her intense interest in her constituent’s needs with action.
By providing Virginia’s young women scholars with an opportunity to meet and learn from women in leadership, budding leadership is developed.
Last year, Delegate Comstock hosted about 10 seminars with visits with Women from: Facebook, No Va Technology Council, Richmond Justice Initiative, “Meet the Press”, the National Review, Virginia House of Delegates,The Virginia Governor’s Office, the U. S. House of Representatives, the Department of Defense, CNN and the White House. The Application Period for Comstock’s second class of participants was complete the end of March.
Yes, Delegate Comstock’s creative leadership is a harbinger of her style and her commitment to her constituents. Please join with me at the Primaries. Vote for Comstock for Congress THIS SATURDAY April 26th.
Olivia Jenney
Not a single reference to promoting Constitutional LIBERTY or RESISTING unconstitutional intrusion and overreach by the federal government.
Her listed “accomplishments” are “nice”, but in this historic time of desperate preservation of AMERICAN LIBERTY, those endeavors don’t even make the Top 10 in importance. Only Bob Marshall has stood guard and ACTIVELY FOUGHT for what matters most.
I agree. Establishment drones will follow that mantra. People with conscience and conviction won’t.
Paid for by Barbara Comstock for Congress.
Ms Jenney, what about protecting our rights and privacy. Has Barbara introduced or been remotely associated to any legislation to strip the surveillance power of the NSA over the people less any reasonable suspicion that they have in fact committed a crime? How bout you jumping on the Marshall bandwagon for peace of mind and living with your conscience. I’ll come put a yard sign in your front yard. Inbox your addy. 🙂
thanks for the spam
No vote button on the page. Please advise.
Can someone point me to any ANTI-NSA spying legislation that Barbara Comstock has voted on, championed, created, co-sponsored or even gave a tentative thumbs up too? Having trouble locating it for another discussion I’m involved with.
Comstock was THE MAIN advocate for the NDAA to stand in the Commonwealth of Virginia and did everything she could to thwart Bob Marshall’s heroic and trend setting legislation to preserve, to the best degree possible at the time, our Constitutional protections and rights to Due Process. Comstock is no friend of the Constitution or LIBERTY!
How anyone can seriously consider such a woman for ANY office, much less higher office is astounding.
Right now, Harry Reid is implementing the “code” language in the NDAA against the supporters of the Bundy’s in Nevada. He is labeling those supporters “Domestic Terrorists”, and “Insurgents”. These designations can actually trigger any and all responses that the likes of John McCain and Lyndsey Graham advocated for calling America a “Battlefield”. Such responses include, but are not limited to, Indefinite Detention, Rendition, and conceivably, drone strikes.
I wish this was a joke. IT IS NOT. Bob Marshall is the leading advocate for Constitutional restraint in the Commonwealth. He is the antidote to the same ole’ establishment bu!!$#!t that we are all choking on.
I suggest a “do over” on this poll for an accurate count. If people truly understood her each candidate’s position on our essential liberties, it waould be Bob Marshall in a landslide.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2011/12/05/the-national-defense-authorization-act-is-the-greatest-threat-to-civil-liberties-americans-face/
http://www.businessinsider.com/patriot-act-ndaa-trapwire-full-body-scanners-simply-put-you-are-not-free-2012-8
Just in case you are interested, Kmart has a blue light special on tin foil. Don’t turn down this opportunity to accessorize your hat for a real cheap price.
http://benswann.com/is-confronting-federal-power-an-act-of-domestic-terrorism/
My experience is that this “Jax” should not be taken seriously, so don’t get too worked up over its petulance.
Thanks for adding no value to the thread. Can you point me to where Comstocks policy or voting record is on domestic surveillance? If not – tell us how much your quote was(if not exempt) when you enrolled in the Affordable Care Act. Add some value..
Your objections are mine as well. Fighting to give Obama the privilege to murder any Virginian at his whim – and in secret, and without having to give a reason – is not representative of the interests of any person that I know.
I too stand in the “this alone ensures that I will never cast a vote for Comstock, ever” camp. Either she is clueless beyond redemption of the dangers to the public of a federal government that is out of control, or she supports it – neither one even deserves the label “Republican”, never mind an actual nomination for office.
You might want to explain what MDAA is and what Comstock had to do with it.
It won’t let me vote.
Never mind.
[…] The Bull Elephant is conducting a flash poll on this race. If you want to cast your vote, go here. […]
Nice. You can vote multiple times… I bet Comstocks people figured that out last night.
Randy, the poll is set to allow 1 vote per IP address. We had issues in the first hour (totally my fault for not setting it up properly) but it should be working properly now.
Testing it.. I voted last night and today from the same IP. You’ve got the IP addresses set to renew every day so people can re-vote. You should start this poll over and remove the renewable IP voting in my honest opinion.
I have examined the logs, and indeed we do have some instances of multiple voting after rollover of the IP block. We will audit the results before the polls close late tonight to remove multiple votes. I can assure you, though, that the few instances of multiple voting that have occurred have not had a significant impact on overall percentages, nor have they changed the rankings.
Apologies for not getting it right from the start…we’ll learn from our mistakes on this one.
🙂
On second thought… Steve, do you really think there is going to be any probative value from this poll at this point? Out of respect for all candidates, my personal opinion is that it be pulled. There is nothing that can be done to cure this defect.
Dude, it’s not like this poll determines who’s going to be the nominee.
Dude, it is what it is. Enjoy it.
lots of people getting their panties into a wad…
Nah just me. I haven’t been jumped into the clan-destined circle of The Gangster Elephant.
didn’t want to single you out, Randy 😉
I like Chicago rules!
Based on the data we have, there’s no way to distinguish unintentional multiple voting from intentional, so we’re not going to attempt to draw any conclusions from that data. We’ll simply clean it up so that only the first vote from any given IP counts.
Unintentional duplicate voting? How would one come back to the site unintentionally in “X” hours and click the same candidate again on the selection screen and memorialize the selection by hitting the VOTE button… Unintentionally? I see nothing in that scenerio by accident.
What I see is consistent with the scenario of people hitting the submit button multiple times. I’ve been in IT operations a long time; I can recognize the signs of deliberate manipulation and I don’t see them here. Either way it will end up as one IP, one vote, and that’s as fair a way to run an online poll as there is.
I disagree. And I’ve got 25yrs in IT design and development. I build CMS’s. The issue is policy and impropriety, Alexis. Who knows what you are saying is true? If I wanted to skew a result – just create the vehicle to do so through configuration. Regardless, there is no probative value that should be placed in this poll and the fact that no moderators reasonably can understand what I’m saying… Gives it an “F” in the smell test. Like I said – it is what it is.
Randy, the bottom line is that we can match IP addresses to votes, and final results will reflect one vote per IP. I made a mistake that allowed for a handful of people to vote more than once, and I’ll fix it.
Assign whatever “probative value” you wish, but the results will be accurate.
Unless I said something, they would not have been. Are you saying “only” 5 people voted twice?
I can assure you that, in your absence, the issue would have been identified and fixed just as quickly. Give me some credit for tech skills please – we were fixing the issue well before you posted your comment.
I’d like to think it would have been fixed. Regardless, the point was made. I’ve committed to knock on an extra 100 doors today due to this 🙂 Bob Marshall is a beast! I just wish the democrats in the Republican Party realized how good he is for this country.
If it makes you feel any better, Marshall ranks high among my heroes in the RPV. With Marshall, there is no question who he stands up for – he stands up for you, the regular citizen of Virginia who doesn’t have fistfuls of dollars to buy government favors with.
157 illegitimate votes were within the margin of error?
Who said that?
Btw… I couldn’t hit the submit button multiple times. I specifically got a message saying that “I’ve already voted” . Only AFTER coming back to the site after the IP Block configuration was reset – was I able to re vote. Steve already verified that was the case. I suggest you reread the thread.
On second thought… Steve, do you really think there is going to be any probative value from this poll at this point? Out of respect for all candidates, my personal opinion is that it be pulled. There is nothing that can be done to cure this defect. Moving forward – if left up… The poll disenfranchises 5 candidates and upholds 1; if only for the appearance of impropriety, it would be best to remove it
Bob Marshall – a rock solid track record voting conservative in the best interests of his district.
Please instruct on how to register a vote. No live links seem apparent.
you should see selectable options unless someone has already voted from your IP address
Thanks, I was able to vote this morning!
Careful with these straw polls, Steve. You don’t want to get sued by Marc Savitt.
I would love to hear the backstory behind that
Up down up down… Please let us hit the button. I’ve been trying to vote for Rob for an hour now.
I am sorry Rob, I have no idea why this is happening. Please keep trying and we’ll keep working to fix it.
Really? No one else has reported trouble recently, and the vote totals have continued to climb. We had a brief period where no votes were counted, but that doesn’t include the last hour. Do you have someone else in your house who has voted already?
there’s a bunch of these clowns running when they get single digits I hope we never hear from them again… this wasinger guy’s stuff is terrible. Just terrible. I hope he didn’t quit his job on Capitol hill, just took a leave, cause he’s gonna need a job next Monday.
If you were unable to vote, please try again. We had a glitch that we have fixed. Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for voting.
I can’t vote either…
Cindyk, do you have anyone else at your IP address that may have voted? I ask because it is limited to one vote per IP, and several people have voted since you posted your comment (so it seems its not broken).
Ray Allen and Mike Thomas came by earlier; I’m afraid you’ve been slated off the poll.
I tried to vote for Bob Marshall, but it won’t let me vote. It just shows the vote totals.
Refresh and try again Michelle. Think we might have had a caching glitch. If it doesn’t work then, can you tell me if anyone else in your house voted? Votes are limited to 1 per IP address.
No sock puppets allowed? You just knee capped one campaign
Hi, I am unable to vote in this poll (unless I am just not seeing where to vote). I have also noticed that the total number of votes hasn’t changed recently. Has it been closed?
Try again, it is up again
Got it, thanks!
Is the poll already closed? Looks like it wasn’t up for very long. Also, Team Comstock all the way.
Try again, Peter. We may have had a caching issue that prevented new votes for a few minutes, but I think we’re OK now. Let me know if you still have issues.
I have a serious complaint about this poll. I really think ALL of Wasinger’s sock puppet names should be included. They each have a different personality and the voters deserve the opportunity to pick their favorite.
LOL!! We don’t have enough room for that.
In the “Fun Stuff” section can we have a poll that let’s us pick our favorite Wasinger sock puppet name?
I am really curious to see if Lamb Chops gets a vote. I am sure someone will, whether as a joke or in seriousness. However, if he gets no votes when this closes I think he we will all have a chuckle.
Bob Marshall. No question..
I favor the candidate who has shown the greatest level of political competence and connection with our community. Rob Wasinger. Sorry, just kidding. I support Barbara Comstock as the one and only choice who can lead us to victory over John Foust and his army of Democratic underlings and minions who want to steal our seat in the 10th.
Odd your Wasinger vote didn’t seem to go through. Obviously that website glitch. Dammit Steve!
The system is rigged!!! LOL
I think it would be more fun to rank the candidates. Who comes in first, second, third……………
Done!