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]. Along with the straw poll, attendants are invited to somewhat of a carnival; including barbecues, inflatable playground equipment for kids, music, and supporters rallying for their candidates[2].
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[3]. 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 narrowing 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[4].
The 2007 Iowa Straw Poll was won by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Conservative Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, placed second in the straw poll of over fourteen thousand Iowa voters.
2007 Iowa Straw Poll
The 2007 Iowa straw poll was on held August 11th and consisted of Republican primary candidates Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Tom Tancredo, John Cox, Ron Paul, Duncan Hunter, Tommy Thompson and Sam Brownback[5]. Presidential primary candidates John McCain and Rudy Giuliani decided not to participate in the straw poll[6], allegedly because of time and resources constraints. Organizers expected a crowd of 40,000 Iowa Republicans at the 2007 straw poll, but campaign estimates showed a sharp decline from the 1999 straw poll with just 14,000 Iowans casting straw ballots, compared to 23,500 voters in the 1999 straw poll[7]. Conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham served as Master of Ceremonies. [8]
Some Republican primary candidates stated that they would not remain in the primary race unless they had a good showing at the straw poll. Mike Huckabee, who finished second, before stated he would reconsider his race if he did not get in the top half of the straw poll finishers. Tommy Thompson stated he would step down from the race if he did not finish in the top two straw poll spots, a position he did not come close too; finishing sixth. The three House members competing, Representatives Duncan Hunter of California, Ron Paul of Texas and Tom Tancredo of Colorado, vowed to stay in the race regardless of their placement in the straw poll[9].
Mitt Romney, who held a significant lead in the Iowa polls, came into the straw poll with a huge advantage over the other straw poll candidates[10]. Because McCain and Giuliani did not attend the straw poll, Romney was predicted to easily win. In an effort to gain support from Iowa conservatives, Sam Brownback campaigned heavily against Romney's past stance on abortion and alleged that fellow Republican candidate, Tom Tancredo, gave money to a "founder of a Planned Parenthood network" in a negative advertisement days before the straw poll[11][12].
The Tancredo campaign stated that they do not share values with all their funders and that Tancredo's voting record shows he is clearly pro-life. Former Arkansas Governor, Mike Huckabee, stated that while he believed Romney's current beliefs on abortion, electing Romney would lead to accusations of a "flip-flop", which he says could lead to a Republican loss in the presidential race[13].
Tancredo attacked fellow candidates Romney, Brownback, and Huckabee on the issue of illegal immigration. Former governor Mike Huckabee stated that Tancredo's ad claiming Huckabee held a pro-amnesty position was "blatantly dishonest", and that Tancredo's campaign either did sloppy research or deliberately mischaracterized his position[14]. Tancredo has used strong opposition to Illegal immigration as a central position of his campaign in Iowa, officially calling it “The Army Against Amnesty.”[15] He stated in a speech during the Iowa Straw Poll, "This is our culture. Fight for it!" This is our nation. Take it back." [16]
Most candidates have offered free straw poll tickets to supporters, with exception of Duncan Hunter. The Tancredo, Romney and Brownback campaigns used numerous buses to get supporters to the straw poll.[17]
After an hour of delay due to a voting machine malfunction, which led to the recount of over 1,500 ballots,[18] Mitt Romney won the 2007 Ames straw poll, receiving 4516 votes, or 31%. Former conservative governor Mike Huckabee, whose poll numbers had been steadily rising around the nation, finished second with 2587 votes at 18.1%[19]. Huckabee's second place finish was somewhat of a surprise to political analysts because of his lack of transportation to the straw poll and late start in Iowa. Huckabee stated after the victory, “We had two fish and five loaves and it fed 5,000.”
| Name | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Mitt Romney | 4,516 | 31%. |
| Mike Huckabee | 2,587 | 18.1% |
| Sam Brownback | 2,192 | 15.3% |
| Tom Tancredo | 1,961 | 13.7% |
| Ron Paul | 1,305 | 9% |
| Tommy Thompson | 1,009 | 7.3% |
Winners
| Year | Name | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Mitt Romney | ||
| 1999 | George W. Bush | Won the Republican primary, and went on to became President of the United States. | |
| 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. | |
| 1987 | Pat Robertson | Lost Republican primary. | |
| 1979 | George H.W. Bush | Lost to Ronald Reagan in Republican primary and becomes vice president candidate |
External Links
References
- ↑ http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3460114&page=1
- ↑ http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2007/08/live_from_the_s.html
- ↑ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DE6D91039F936A2575BC0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print
- ↑ http://www.iowagop.net/straw.poll.asp
- ↑ http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070625/NEWS/70625033/1001
- ↑ http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2007-06-06-iowa-straw-poll_N.htm
- ↑ http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/
- ↑ http://www.iowagop.net/downloads/Straw.Poll.Info.pdf
- ↑ http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=ap55FE7Ol9O8&refer=us
- ↑ http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2007/08/group_attacks_r.html
- ↑ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2007/07/26/VI2007072601105.html
- ↑ http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/07/26/brownbacks_robocallshit_romney.html
- ↑ http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/08/posttalk_huckabees_tough_talk.html
- ↑ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/individuals/john_tanton/index.html
- ↑ http://race42008.com/category/tom-tancredo/
- ↑ http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/
- ↑ http://race42008.com/category/tom-tancredo/
- ↑ http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/08/ames_a_partial_recount_confirm.php
- ↑ http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/
