E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Updated 1:42 p.m. — A major staple of the Republican presidential nominating process -- the straw poll of Republicans at the Iowa State University in Ames -- could go by the wayside if Iowa's GOP governor gets his way.
Gov. Terry Branstad, who's currently serving his fifth term as governor of the Hawkeye State, told the Wall Street Journal that the straw poll was no longer relevant.
© Brian Frank / Reuters / REUTERS
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad speaks as U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack looks on during a news conference at the Iowa State Capitol March 28, 2012.
"I think the straw poll has outlived its usefulness,"Branstad told the paper. "It has been a great fundraiser for the party but I think its days are over."
The governor's comments earned a rebuke from the chairman of the state Republican party.
"I believe the Iowa Straw Poll is possibly the best way for a presidential campaign to organize (put in place county and precinct leaders & activate them) for Iowa’s First in the Nation Caucus," said A.J. Spiker, the party chairman. "I think it is detrimental for any campaign to skip the opportunity presented in Ames and I disagree with Governor Branstad about ending our Iowa Straw Poll."
Ronda Churchill / AP
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, left, Indiana Gov.-Elect Mike Pence, center, and Republican Governors Association Chairman and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell participate in the RGA Annual Conference on Nov. 15, 2012, in Las Vegas.
The straw poll has more often offered a glimpse of candidates' organizational strength in Iowa, which traditionally hosts the first nominating contest in a presidential contest, than a good predictor of the nominee. Candidates often spend thousands (if not more) on courting votes in the straw poll, hosting elaborate barbecues and musical acts in hopes of emerging from the event with a burst of strength.
But the winner hasn't always gone onto the nomination. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann won the straw poll this summer, earning a boomlet for her longshot bid for the nomination that fizzled weeks thereafter. Mitt Romney, the eventual Republican presidential nominee, didn't participate in the straw poll (though he stopped at the state fair during the same weekend); he lost the Iowa caucuses to former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum by just a few votes, despite not having campaigned in the state.
NBC's Domenico Montanaro breaks down the history of presidents pardoning turkeys at The White House and looks at the future of the Ames Straw Poll and some comments Sen. Marco Rubio made to GQ Magazine.
"You saw what happened the last time," Branstad told the Journal. "I don’t think candidates will spend the time or money to participate in a straw poll if they don’t see any real benefit coming out of it."
The event was consequential -- in a negative way -- for former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who had been thought to be a major contender versus Romney for the GOP nomination. But after Pawlenty's campaign bet almost all of its chips on the Ames event, he ended his bid for the presidency.
Still, the event is a major fundraiser for the Iowa GOP, and future candidates looking to add some momentum to their own campaigns might elect to participate anyway in the straw poll, a bit of presidential pageantry dating back to the 1980 election.
Leave a Comment:
Branstad recognizes that there is a strong streak of right wing fundamentalists in the State (witness the dumping of moderate Iowa S/Court justices because they ruled the State Constitution did not bar same sex marriage) and he knows that this group will bring kooks like Bachman/Santoreum(sp) back to the State and who needs that.
Witness this.. the state of Iowa has made millions from same sex marriage and will continue to do so. I know, I am originally from Iowa and had my marriage RIGHT THERE. Iowa has come into the 21st century and Braindead is not going to overturn it.
Oh, Governor Braindead. Let's get rid of an event that not only rakes in the dough for your own party, but also helps out the economy in Ames and surrounding areas when all of the candidates bus in their out of state constituents to vote for them. All of those hotels, restaurants, other various shopping centers and stores would lose a whole lot of revenue. Way to bolster our economy in Iowa! You're definitely thinking about the state as a whole and not your own party's ineptitude [/sarcasm]
Five terms as Governor? Isn't there anyone else qualified? As for the Straw Poll, it's a great distraction for the GOP. Stupid, but great distraction.
He has done alot better than the previous democrat.Culver was on the verge of bankrupting Iowa after only one term.
Translation - the straw poll is a little too grassroots and democratic for our tastes, we need to get the process back into the smoke-filled back rooms where it belongs.
Sign the petition to tell boehner and the republi-tards to Stop playing politics and pass the middle class tax cuts!!
Sign the petition here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/taxes/tax-cuts
Unfortunately, as the lesser party, blocking the dems is their only realistic political function.
Then we'll kick them out in 2014. Period. End of story.
What, is McConnell's new goal to make President Obama a two term president?
every republican clown fest should start with an Ames straw poll
Branstad just doesn't want to see Michele Bachmann deep-throat any more corn dogs.
i don't know , but it seems to set up a target with a '' bullseye '' on it. and has served as quite a joke for political fodder , lol !!!
Using Governor Bumstead's reasoning they should stop the caucus as well. Santorum won that after a recount but didn't get the nomination so another waste of time. I'm just glad I didn't have to buy some magic underwear.
People here call him Braindead - Terry E Braindead, gubinator for life.
All polls and such coming from Iowa are useless. It is not representative of the country as a whole.
Deletearoo.
Well, this sounds like a big mistake. Think of the economic impact if thousands of television, radio, and print media personnel do not drop millions of dollars on the local economy of Ames, IA. Think what will happen if the Koch Brothers fail to handout millions of dollars to each of the political candidates, who then handout millions of dollars to their surrogates. Jobs! The Iowa Straw Poll is about jobs. Why destroy jobs in the dead of winter?
Slim and none. Slim and none. That's your chances of winning. Pay the price, roll the dice, Governor Brain-dead is grinning. Brain-dead is a clever slime-ball; he was probably paid by some douche-bag to say this. Welcome to Iowa, where the gold dome of the capitol is bought and sold by special interests.
we should instead end all party primaries, and make all states have open primaries without party affiliation, and select upto top 3 candidates to general election.
either party's primary/straw poll process sucks, money driven and not democratic.
Terry Branstad, the great WHITE HOPE of Iowa was elected by the Republican social conservatives (who took over the Iowa Republican party) when I was an undergraduate in Iowa in the early 1980's. He is the Governor again today. Nice to know that NOTHING ever changes...................
Terry Branstad, the great white hope of Iowa was elected by Republican social conservatives (who took over the Republican party at that time) when I was an undergraduate in Iowa in the early 1980's. 30 years later he is Governor once again. I find it somehow comforting that NOTHING has changed in that state and in our nation in 32 odd years. Same as it ever was.....same as it ever was......
What would be even better is to end the "Dagwood Bumstead Brandstad's term as Governor.
The Republicans understand now that their obese, all white, all hillbilly, deep fried butter stick eating religious whack job and Tea Bagger no-nothing constituency is an embarrassment to the nation and the world and they'd rather keep it under the rug.
And to,add
Low IQ,simple minded twenki,eating dumb scum. Ha he ho look at tx land of the fat ugly red necks like all,red states
Most of the wealth is in the blue states except tx where they had oil,other than that,dumb simple minded tea bagging red neck fakes,,
Look at the GOP,the dumbing down of America started with them
A turkey is smarter than a tea bager
Atleast ia voted for,obama
The straw poll lost all credibility when Bachmann won it.
Im not surpised at what the governor wants to do. He's just another right wing nut job. He is also probably trying to blame Ames for losing the Election this year, for the Grumpy Old Party... All I can say is the GOP is out of touch with about 70% of Americans.
The straw poll is as relevant as the GOP,until they purge the GOP of all the Rightwing/Teabagger bigots and the Biblethumpers,they will lose even more voters and more elections. Come out of the darkness and make a turn to the middle where most Americans are!