Ron Paul fell less than 200 votes shy of claiming his first primary as Maine held its presidential preference primary over the weekend. 

Unfortuanately for Paul, the showing didn't mean much as, similar to Missouri's non-binding primary, Maine's actual GOP candidate won't be decided until March 11. 

Paul is still looking for his first victory in the campaign season. His stock has dropped ever since he was polled as one of the favorites to compete in Iowa.

From The Washington Post:

The campaign’s top hopes appear to be in caucuses held in Washington state on March 3 and those held in Alaska, North Dakota and Idaho on Super Tuesday on March 6.

Meanwhile, as CNN reports, the race for the Republican presidential nomination appears to be all tied up between former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, according to two new national surveys.

Up next are GOP primaries in Michigan and Arizona on Feb. 28. South Carolina is also set to hold its Democratic primary that day, too. The trifecta of primaries, depending on who wins, could cloud the nominee picture even more than it already is.

St. Charles County Patch sites are now polling readers to gauge their interest in the election, its candidates and what issues are most important to them. This poll will be published each week until the end of the election season.

We hope these numbers will provide insight into how attitudes and ideologies shifted throughout what seems sure to be a cutthroat political atmosphere.

Here's how last week's voting played out: 

Which presidential candidate are you favoring at this point?

• Barack Obama (D): 36 votes (26%)
• Newt Gingrich (R): 23 votes (17%)
• Ron Paul (R): 35 votes (26%)
• Mitt Romney (R): 19 votes (14%)
• Rick Santorum (R): 19 votes (14%)
• Other (leave a comment): 2 votes (1%)

Total votes: 134

What issue is most important to you?

• The economy: 71 votes (56%)
• Job creation: 14 votes (11%)
• Health care: 13 votes (10%)
• Same-sex marriage: 1 votes (0%)
• Foreign policy: 14 votes (11%)
• Abortion: 7 votes (5%)
• Immigration: 1 votes (0%)
• Other (leave a comment): 5 votes (3%)

For more on the candidates, CLICK HERE. 

After you're done voting, tell us why you voted the way you did by leaving a comment below!