Romney wins Michigan straw poll; Republicans want Rubio for VP

Florida Republicans may prefer Herman Cain for president, according to this weekend's straw poll. However, Michigan voters still overwhelmingly favor the candidate who was born and raised in their home state: former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Romney easily clinched the top spot Saturday in the National Journal Hotline/National Association of Home Builders Straw Poll of Republican activists in attendance at this weekend's Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference on Mackinac Island, Mich. Romney received 51 percent support--a 34-point lead over Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who received 17 percent. Cain, former Godfather's Pizza CEO, placed third with 9 percent.

Saturday's Michigan poll also offered some revealing information about Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

Rubio, a freshman tea party star, continues to hold strong appeal that extends beyond his home state.

Rubio was the top choice of Michigan activists in Saturday's poll to be vice president. The Florida senator received 23 percent support to be the next vice presidential candidate, followed by Cain, who received 14 percent, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich with 13 percent and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann with 12 percent.

Romney's Michigan win hardly came as a surprise. In addition to claiming favorite-son status, Romney could also point to his father George's tenure as governor there. For Romney's chief rival Perry, meanwhile, the straw poll's results, while scarcely scientific, may still augur more bad news. The Michigan poll was the second consecutive loss this weekend for the Texas governor. Perry placed a distant second behind Cain at this weekend's Florida straw poll-- 37.1 percent to 15.4 percent--prompting speculation that Perry, who performed badly in last week's Florida debate, may be dropping out of the top tier of GOP hopefuls.

Perry, like Romney, mounted a direct pitch to GOP activists at Mackinac this weekend ahead of the straw poll. The last- minute push from both rivals suggested that Romney was keen to shore up his Michigan support ahead of the state's formal primary next year--and that Perry doesn't plan to concede the state to its native son.

Romney won the GOP Michigan primary in 2008 with 39 percent of the vote.

Michigan is expected to play a prominent role in the 2012 election. The state currently plans to hold its primary Feb. 28, shortly after the earliest states make their picks, but early enough to risk Republican National Committee penalties for violating scheduling rules.