Gwinnett Daily Post

FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2012 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, speaks in Boise, Idaho. Presidential campaigns and outside political groups began filing detailed financial reports Monday, offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the identities of wealthy supporters who will help elect the next president and details on how tens of millions of campaign dollars have been spent. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

There seems to be some merit to the talks that GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul is organizing supporters to make a run at the party convention.

While Paul is coming in last in most polls and has yet to stage a primary win in the race for the Republican nomination, he ran away with the Gwinnett straw poll last weekend.

Paul garnered 115 votes, with native son Newt Gingrich -- who was on his way to the venue for a rally -- coming in second with 73.

Rick Santorum got 60 votes, and Mitt Romney had 25.

Bruce LeVell, the chairman of the Gwinnett GOP, said he didn't believe the straw poll was a forecast of the Super Tuesday vote for the county.

"It wasn't gauged based on the regular, diehard Republican Party. There was a lot of new people there," LeVell said, although he gave credit to Paul for organizing his supporters to become delegates to the national convention.

"The bottom line is you should be trying to organize your people," he said. "He may have put a lot more emphasis on the process than others."

LeVell said a poll taken at a regular Gwinnett GOP event would likely have had a much different result.

"It wasn't a very strong accurate gauge of the pulse of the entire county," he said.

Political Notebook appears in the Thursday and Sunday editions of the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Camie Young can be reached via email at camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com.

For archived columns, go to www.gwinnettdailypost.com/news/local/politics/.