Romney Wins Illinois Straw Poll. Thompson 2nd. Paul 3rd. Giuliani 4th. McCain 5th. Huckabee 6th.

REHOBOTH BEACH, DEL.-- The Illinois GOP straw poll -- not influenced by the kind of pay-to-play politics that marked the Iowa balloting -- handed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney on Thursday another victory and took some of the Big Mo away from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee who was basking in the glory of coming in second in the Iowa straw vote.

But Republicans casting ballots at the State Fair in Springfield put former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) -- who one of these days will make his candidacy official -- in second only a point ahead of the iconoclastic Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) who came in third. Mostly spurned by Land of Lincoln GOP straw voters were former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)

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