Elizabeth Warren wins Sonoma County Democrats’ straw poll, Kamala Harris places second

The county’s Democratic Party polled more than 2,700 fair visitors.|

The Sonoma County Fair offered myriad slices of Americana: funnel cakes and corndogs, demolition derby, livestock auctions, and, because it’s that time in the U.S. election cycle - a straw poll of the candidates vying for the Democratic nomination.

The poll took place daily from Aug. 1-11 at the Sonoma County Democratic Party’s booth at the fair, and it was a well-traveled booth, tallying more than 5,000 visitors and 2,741 poll voters, according to organizers.

The top vote-getter? Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who garnered 588 voters, or more than 21% of the tally. California Sen. Kamala Harris earned 536 votes (less than 20%), followed by former Vice President Joe Biden at 506 votes (18%), Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont at 321 votes (12%) and Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana at 301 votes (11%).

It was a long drop to sixth place, where Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii secured 87 votes. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey earned ?83 votes; entrepreneur and attorney Andrew Yang secured 66 votes, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar received 49 votes and former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke scored 40 votes, the lowest tally among those who have qualified for the Democrats’ upcoming presidential debate.

“Many people felt overwhelmed with the number of choices and were undecided,” said Val Hinshaw, Sonoma County Democratic Party second vice chairwoman. “Some voted on who they thought would be the best candidate to beat (President Donald Trump). Others voted on who they most liked for their policy positions.”

Presidential straw polls have long existed to take a collective temperature about the candidates who would lead the nation. Researcher Tom Smith in his 1990 Public Opinion Quarterly piece “The First Straw?: A Study of the Origins of Election Polls,” points to the 1824 presidential race that eventually led to a John Quincy Adams presidency as the first presidential polling.

In his paper, Smith gives a nod to newspaper polls starting in the mid-19th century. Professional firms have been in the field since at least 1936, when Gallup, Roper and Crossley surveyed voters on the Roosevelt-Landon race.

The most well-known straw poll remains at the Iowa State Fair, and Biden was the winner this year among 24 Democrats, edging Warren by a margin of 17.7% to 17.2%, according to results released Monday. Buttigieg finished third, at 14% and Sanders placed fourth, at 10%.

On the Republican side in Iowa, Donald Trump earned more than 96% support in the GOP field and 46% of the overall contest, which involved more than 4,000 fair visitors.

Officials with the Sonoma County Republican Party could not be reached Tuesday evening to determine if they had conducted a poll of their own at the local fair.

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