Ron Paul Retains Edge Among Youth; Wins Virginia University Straw Poll

Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul has won another straw poll in Virginia, the Madison Liberty group announced over the weekend.

In the poll, James Madison University (JMU) students were invited to vote for one of the five potential presidential candidates: President Barack Obama, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Sen. Rick Santorum, Rep. Ron Paul and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Below are the results.

Ron Paul - 45 votes (46.3%)

Barack Obama - 39 votes (40.2%)

Mitt Romney - 5 votes (5.2%)

Rick Santorum - 4 votes (4.1%)

Others (including Newt Gingrich) - 1 vote (1 % each)

The result was termed as a radical departure from national polling of all registered voters in the Republican race.

Thursday's 2012 presidential straw poll, narrowly won by Republican Ron Paul, indicates a small surge in students' interest in national politics, Madison Liberty wrote in a blog post accompanying the poll results.

Paul's supporters have often complained that the media ignores him, but he has nonetheless retained widespread support, especially amongst younger voters who see him as an alternative to extreme social conservatives like Rick Santorum, the post said.

Paul's libertarian proposals - including eliminating U.S. military presence around the world, radical government spending cuts and legalization of marijuana - seem to appeal to a large portion of student community.

Extremely poor poll performances from Romney, Gingrich, and Santorum indicate that young conservative-leaning voters are frustrated with establishment Republicans and their divisive politics, the blog post said.

Notwithstanding the 40 percent votes cast in his favor, President Obama apparently has lost some support among the student community, when compared to the tremendous support he generated during a JMU visit back in 2008.