Clipper Poll Results, Before The Shutdown

Dannie McConkie had 5% with 266 Votes

Bret Millburn had 28% with 1463 Votes

Rob Miller had 67% with 3527 Votes

After I mentioned this poll on The Utah Amicus, and after e-mailing some friends that the poll was taking place,I watched my numbers move up putting me in a comfortable, and yet reasonable lead.

Sometime around 1PM yesterday, I watched 200 votes go up for Millburn in less than 10 minutes stalling at exactly 250 votes. When Ethan mentioned this on SLCSPIN, I again took the lead with approximately 450 votes. It was obvious that somebody figured out that they could vote numerous times (approximately 200 times) by clearing their cookies cache on their browser giving Millburn what should have been a comfortable 69% lead in the poll. As I watched my numbers go back up I realized that this was ridiculous. This was no longer about truth, it was about making a statement, so I made a few calls, and the rest is history.

So, what does this poll prove? One thing it proved is that people will cheat if given the opportunity. It became apparent that somebody was not about to sit back and let my legitimate Democratic lead stand. Another thing it proved is that Democrats will not sit back and allow a blatant manipulation of the process without a fight.

However, the best lesson I learned from this was more simple and positive. I learned that having friends can make a big difference, and a person who has friends is always a winner.

My last thought is this. I will never allow a poll to tell me who is or who isn't the more popular candidate. I believe that we should try to discover more about our candidates from our own research, and that we need to trust ourselves before we trust any online poll.

Thanks again, I am so very grateful for my friends.