Hillary Clinton Wins Straw Poll at Congressman Connolly's St. Patrick's Day Fete

Sign up for the Reston Patch newsletter!

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took the lion’s share of the vote in a presidential straw poll conducted Tuesday night at Congressman Gerry Connolly’s annual St. Patrick’s Day bash in Fairfax, according to a news release from his office.

More than 1,100 Democrats — elected officials, candidates and party faithful from Northern Virginia and Richmond — gathered in the massive Kena Temple ballroom for Connolly’s 21st annual St. Patrick’s Day Fete.

Here’s how Connolly’s Democratic presidential straw poll broke down:

• Former New York Senator and first lady Hillary Clinton: 48 percent
• Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, of the Falls Church area: 15 percent
• Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren: 10 percent
• Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders: 7 percent
• Vice President Joe Biden: 6 percent
• Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley: 6 percent

Write-ins for a variety of other names accounted for 8 percent of the straw poll vote. Straw polls are a tradition at the annual event.

Connolly was joined on stage by Lt. Governor Ralph Northam, Congressman Don Beyer, Sharon Bulova, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and dozens of state and local officeholders from across Northern Virginia.

In his brief remarks, Connolly recognized the array of elected officials and candidates and said they represented the strength of Democratic principles and values in the region.

The annual St. Patrick’s Day fete started as a small gathering at Connolly’s Fairfax home in 1995 when he was first elected to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. As it grew in size and reputation, it was moved to Kena Temple, one of the largest ballrooms in Northern Virginia.

Dozens of volunteers plan the annual event, decorate the ballroom and prepare and serve traditional Irish fare for the hundreds of diners. Some volunteers and attendees have participated in all 21 of Connolly’s fetes, held on what he jokingly calls his “holiest day of the year.”

PHOTO: Congressman Gerry Connolly, who represents Virginia’s 11th congressional District, addresses the crowd Tuesday night at his St. Patrick’s Day event at Kena Temple in Fairfax.