(Photo: Getty)

WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney stopped Rick Santorum's primary winning streak with a victory in the straw poll at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference today. Mr. Santorum came in second. Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul brought up the rear.

Mr. Romney won 38 percent of the vote compared to Mr. Santorum's 31 percent. Mr. Gingrich received 15 percent of the vote. Ron Paul, who won the CPAC straw polls in 2011 and 2010, earned 12 percent, but he did not participate in this year's conference. A total of 3,408 people participated in the poll.

Though the CPAC straw poll has no bearing on the GOP nomination process, Mr. Romney's victory should help to slow Mr. Santorum's momentum after his wins in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri last week. The win also dents Mr. Santorum's status as the choice of the Republican Party's conservative wing. Mr. Romney has had trouble connecting with more conservative voters during the campaign so far, but he made a major push to win the CPAC straw poll, busing in large numbers of supporters.