By Jeff Mapes, The Oregonian

March 07, 2010, 12:13PM

Businessman Allen Alley won the Republican gubernatorial straw poll at the Dorchester Conference in Seaside just a few minutes ago, on Sunday morning.  His victory over ex-Trail Blazer Chris Dudley could give Alley a shot of momentum in a race that has mostly gone Dudley's way in recent months.

Here's the final vote tally, as per conference spokesman Jonanthan Thompson:

Allen Alley......225 votes

Chris Dudley...165 votes

John Lim..........47 votes

Bill Sizemore......1 vote

Alley's victory could well have been built on his strong performance in the Friday night debate featuring three of the four candidates (Sizemore was not invited).  Several Republicans at the conference said he was clearly the most polished of the candidates.

"It was wonderful," Alley said in a telephone interview.  "It's really cool.  The nicest thing about (the campaign) is it's a grass-roots effort."

However, Alley didn't try to sell the victory as a turning point in the race.  "It's nice to win," he said, "but we've got a lot of work to do."

Dudley just issued this statement:

"I congratulate Allen on winning the straw poll; it reflects the support he's earned having been a candidate the past 3 years. I am thrilled, having just entered the race less than 3 months ago and being new to politics with the strong support I received in the straw poll. I thank and congratulate everyone who participated in the Dorchester Conference."

Both candidates had encouraged supporters to attend and spent much of the weekend at Seaside chatting up party activists.

Alley, who was the Republican nominee for state treasurer in 2008, is a co-founder of Pixelworks, a high-tech firm in the Portland area.