New York Senator Hillary Clinton topped the field in the Dolphin Democrats straw poll of 2008 presidential contenders, winning 57.6 percent of the vote.

Illinois Senator Barack Obama was a distant second with 13.2 percent of the vote, and former senator John Edwards and former vice president Al Gore tied for third place, each winning 11.9 percent of the vote.

The unscientific straw poll was conducted Saturday and Sunday at PrideFest by the Dolphin Democrats, Broward's GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender)Democratic club. The Dolphin Democrats are chartered by the Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus, an arm of the Florida Democratic Party.

The Dolphin Democrats are one of the largest Democratic clubs in the state. History tells us that whoever wins Florida in November 2008 will be elected president. And with more than a million gay and lesbian voters in Florida, more than 70 percent of them Democrats, the GLBT community has an important role to play, Dolphin Democrats president Amy Shoosmith said.

Browards GLBT community is a cross-section of the Democratic constituency across the state. While our poll is an unscientific assessment, it is a solid snapshot of where the 2008 presidential contest is right now.

Full results of the poll follow:

Candidate Votes Percentage

Hillary Clinton 140 57.6%
Barack Obama 32 13.2%
John Edwards 29 11.9%
Al Gore 29 11.9%
Bill Richardson 5 2.1%
Wesley Clark 3 1.2%
Joe Biden 2 0.8%
Others 2 0.8%
Dennis Kucinich 1 0.4%