Iowa straw poll regaining luster
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By Todd Dorman | Friday, July 20, 2007 |
DES MOINES — Iowa Republican leaders expect 40,000 Iowans to show up for the party’s August straw poll, an event they’re billing as the first true test of the presidential campaign.
“This is where the caucus process really kicks off,” Chuck Laudner, executive director of the Republican Party of Iowa, told reporters Thursday. “A quarter to a third of caucus attendees will be at this event.”
Just a month ago, the straw poll saw its stature diminish with the announcement that hopefuls Rudy Giuliani and John McCain would skip the event. But party leaders insist it’s now regaining luster as a critical stop on the road to January’s caucuses.
Laudner said thousands of undecided voters are expected to show up for the spectacle in Ames. And he said the event offers a rare chance for lesser-known contenders to grab the spotlight.
“The straw poll is almost the equivalent of, if not, caucus night itself,” said Laudner, who expects that some candidates who poll poorly will drop out of the race. “It is the first big test.”
Like past years, the straw poll will be a hybrid mix of state fair-style entertainment and national convention-style politicking. In 1999, 37,000 tickets were sold and the state party raised roughly $1 million.
But unlike the last straw poll in 1999, where long lines and fire code rules kept thousands from voting, Republicans say they’ve got the kinks worked out.
Only Iowa residents of voting age will be allowed to vote in the poll, and staff will be scanning driver’s licenses to verify IDs and to keep attendees from casting multiple ballots. Straw poll voters do not have to be registered voters, however.
There will be more places to vote this time, not only at straw poll central in Hilton Coliseum but at other nearby buildings at the Iowa State Center.
Eight candidates will speak at the event, but voters will have 11 choices on the ballot. That includes Giuliani, McCain and Fred Thompson, who has yet to formally join the GOP presidential race.
And just 12,000 of the 40,000 who show up will get seats inside Hilton to hear the candidates. The party will pipe the event to other buildings and to the candidates’ tent sites around the complex.
Republicans are also promising beefed-up security at the event, with the help of local police, the Iowa State Patrol and homeland security officials.
“We’re going to have heavy security there,” Laudner said.
Todd Dorman can be contacted at (515) 243-0138 or at todd.dorman@lee.net.
Iowa GOP straw poll
Where and when — Aug. 11 at the Iowa State Center on the campus of Iowa State University, Ames.
Who will be there — Republican presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo, John Cox, Ron Paul, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Tommy Thompson and Sam Brownback will attend.
Who’s skipping — Rudy Giuliani and John McCain. Also, undeclared candidate Fred Thompson is not expected to attend.
The poll — Iowa residents 18 and over who buy a $35 ticket to the event can vote in the straw poll. They must have a valid Iowa driver’s license, military ID or college ID, but they don’t have to be a registered voter. Voting will take place between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., and the results are scheduled to be announced at 7 p.m.
By the numbers
40,000 — The straw poll crowd expected by Iowa Republicans
5 — Outside groups that also will have a big straw poll presence, including the NRA, Newt Gingrich’s American Solutions, One Vote ’08, Fair Tax and the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease
10 — Hours of politics planned, from a Fair Tax rally at 9 a.m. to the announcement of poll results at 7 p.m.
31 — The number of parking lots that will be used or will be available for use during the straw poll. Planners are expecting traffic akin to an Iowa-Iowa State football game.
15 — Minutes each candidate has to speak during the event.
0 — Number of GOP candidates who failed to finish in the top two at the straw poll but won the caucuses anyway.
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