Iowa Straw Poll
The Ames Straw Poll, known more widely as the Iowa Straw Poll, is the most prominent Republican presidential straw poll. The Straw Poll, sponsored by the Iowa GOP, is held at Iowa State University the August before any Republican presidential primary. Although the straw poll is a non-binding political activity, it has been used as a measuring stick of the viability of candidates presidential bid. The Ames Straw Poll, which charges $35 for each admission, also acts as a fund raising event for the Iowa Republican party. Voting is open to all party affiliations[1].
Because of the significance of the straw poll, primary candidates have spent large sums of money purchasing pre-paid ballots for supporters. In 2004, Steve Forbes and George W. Bush each spent over $2 million on tickets and activities for the Iowa Straw Poll[2]. The Iowa Straw Poll has also been a hive for media, with over 250 news organizations on hand during the 1999 straw poll.
The Iowa Straw Poll has acted as a means of norrowing down Republican primary contestants. Lower tier candidates are forced to place high in the straw poll in order to keep up funding from supporters. In 1999, Lamar Alexander ended his primary campaign just two days after the Iowa Straw Poll. In October of the same year, Elizabeth Dole also cut short her campaign after not living up to her supporters expectations in the Iowa Straw Poll[3].
2007 Iowa Straw Poll
The 2007 Iowa straw poll will be held August 11th and will consist of Republican primary candidates Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Tom Tancredo, John Cox, Ron Paul, Duncan Hunter, Tommy Thompson and Sam Brownback[4]. Presidential primary candidates John McCain and Rudy Giuliani decided not to participate in the straw poll[5], allegedly because of time and resources constraints. Organizers expect there will be 40,000 Iowa Republicans at this year's straw poll[6]. Laura Ingraham is the Master of Ceremonies. [7]
Winners
| Year | Name | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | George W. Bush | Won the Republican primary, and went on to became President of the United States. |
| 1995 | Pat Robertson | Lost Republican primary. |
| 1995 | Bob Dole and Phil Gramm (tie) | Bob Dole went on to win the Republican primary after tying for first place in the Iowa Caucus. |
| 1979 | George H.W. Bush | Lost to Ronald Reagan in Republican primary and becomes vice president candidate |
External Links
References
- â http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3460114&page=1
- â http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DE6D91039F936A2575BC0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print
- â http://www.iowagop.net/straw.poll.asp
- â http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070625/NEWS/70625033/1001
- â http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2007-06-06-iowa-straw-poll_N.htm
- â http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/07/20/news/local/doc46a04563cde01862465366.txt
- â http://www.iowagop.net/downloads/Straw.Poll.Info.pdf