NH GOP weighs chairman, straw poll

[January 22, 2011]  DERRY, N.H. (AP) -- New Hampshire Republicans are looking ahead to 2012, picking a party chairman and early presidential favorites.

Almost 500 members of the New Hampshire GOP on Saturday will choose between a tea party-backed candidate, Jack Kimball, or establishment figure Juliana Bergeron for chairman. They will also participate in a straw poll being organized by ABC News and WMUR-TV.

Some potential candidates already have made multiple trips to New Hampshire, which holds the nation's earliest presidential primary. The straw poll could indicate which ones have shown early organizational strength although no one made efforts to sway the straw poll.

In Iowa, which holds the earliest caucuses, Republicans have scheduled a straw poll for Aug. 13.

[Associated Press]

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