Looks like Mitt has won the Iowa Straw Poll, by a big margin. I am wondering if this will now make some of the lesser candidates bow out. Several of the big name politicians did not even appear in Iowa over the weekend, a possible sign that they might bow out. Here are the results: Gov Mitt Romney won the 2007 Ames straw poll, receiving 4516 votes, or 31%. In a surprise, Gov. Mike Huckabee finished second with 2587 votes at 18.1% 11. John Cox with 41 votes. 10. John McCain with 101 votes. 9. Duncan Hunter with 174 votes. 8. Rudy Giuliani with 183 votes. 7. Fred Thomson with 203 votes. 6. Tommy Thompson, 1,039 votes, 7.3% 5. Ron Paul with 1305 votes, and 9.1% 4. Tom Tancredo with 1961 votes, 13.7%. 3. Sen. Sam Brownback with 2192 votes and 15.3% Iowa state auditor David Vaudt unofficially certified the results. 14,203 ballots were cast. http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/
I've been somewhat impressed by Huckabee, but still surprised he did so well. It's a known fact that Romney paid to bus in, enter, feed and house some of his voters. As a PR stunt, it wasn't cheap. Will it translate into real votes when people aren't paid? That remains to be seen. Romney lacks credibility and integrity. I'm beginning to think this guy would be a worse President than Giuliani. He flip flops, he grandstands and he really came up short on specific policy details during the Iowa ABC debate despite garnering the majority of the airtime.
http://www.iowaindependent.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=CED40431F52896F83EF6DD31B1BFB4C7?diaryId=755 http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/11/straw-poll-results-expected-shortly/ Things that make you go hmmm... Things that make you go LOLOLOLOLOL
I can't believe mccain, rudy, and thompson didn't even show up... I'll admit, huckabee got a laugh out of me with his comment:
As usual, FoxNews watchers were shown different results - http://silenceisdefeat.org/~chris/blog/images/foxnewskipsronpaul.jpg Doesn't even add up to 100%
Its just a straw poll, but it did what it usually does. This morning there was at least one candidate who withdrew...can't remember his name. Also, I read somewhere that Mitt spent close to $450/vote, compared to the others lack of spending.
The dems are running scared now after Iowa.. Looks like they are afraid of the strong group of Republican candidates and the fact that Hillary is brining the dems down... I figured it would go Mitt, McCain, Rudy and so on... I figured it might go higher for Huckabee and Thompson... I guess Tommy dropped out... Well, this is the poll that kinda defines the direction.... It is not always accurate, but pretty much tells you who will be president 50% of the time...
Huckabee was great in the debates. Too bad he probably won't get a lot of money to carry his campaign very far. I think he's running for a VP slot, anyways. I had no idea who he was before the debates and thought "i heart huckabees" or whatever that movie was when i heard the name. thompson isn't officially in yet. There are no delegates at stake here, so placing isn't very relevant; it just weeds out those who are 2nd tier from the 1st tier candidates. Rudy is already a top tier; mccain is fading and thompson did well for not campaigning at all.
McCain is done, though. He'll end up supporting either guiliani or thompson. I'm still kinda wishing newt would drop his hat into the ring. He's unelectable and I accept this, but still.
Actually, it was a good idea for all three of them not to show up. Rudy would've gotten his ass kicked. That crowd tends to lean towards socially conservative stances, and Rudy is very liberal on the social side. Plus, Romney BOUGHT that poll with a LOT of money. Rudy would have had to spend a ton of money to remain competitive enough to keep from being embarrassed in the results. John, well, John is toast. He has no money, no support, and no base. Thompson isn't in the race yet. No point in showing up for an event as a candidate when you aren't in the race. Another note here... the Iowa straw poll is quickly becoming irrelevant. A lot of states are now moving their primaries up to MUCH earlier dates, so Iowa just isn't as important as it used to be. Back when Bush one that poll it actually played a roll in the outcome of an election. Now I'm not so sure it has the same effect. I'm comfortable saying a candidate can win without going to the Iowa straw poll.
I have yet to see a poll that added up to 100%... Some people vote "undecided", or for some other candidate.. Since the percentages of those voting for someone else are so low, they generally do not list them... There could be literally hundreds of other candidates listed with poll votes... Only the major players are going to be listed.. This has to be one of the dumbest comments I have seen in a long time!
Are you serious? You really need to learn more before you try to post. You end up owning yourself like AGS does all the time. I understand you are probably fairly young, but don't let that stop you from learning.
Only a few of the top candidates decided to go out to Iowa. Romney obviously thought it would be best for his campaign to go all out in Iowa, with buses full of supporters and his campaign RVs in tow. It got him the win, but there's already a lot of bad PR swirling about the stunning amount of money he spent on this win, which ended up being $400+ per vote. Tommy Thompson dropped out of the race today, which is no surprise. He wasn't a frontrunner, and he didn't have a strong base like Ron Paul to put out a good grassroots campaign. He wasn't even very good in the debates, and he's looked awful in all the interviews I've seen him in. He was probably the least prepared candidate in a long time. The Iowa Straw Poll seems to get less relevant each election cycle. The big candidates just blow it off now, realizing it doesn't create the momentum it used to, and there are much better things they could be doing for their campaign than courting a few people in Iowa who really had no business being such an influence on presidential politics in the first place.
What a bunch of balooney... If you believe that Fox results are correct and official results are fraudulent, no wonder people believe there is a 'war on terror'
I am as well. He's a very down-to-earth, honest guy. Didn't RP also pay for tickets and food? Just curious if you hold him to the same standard, or does he get a pass? Actually, both of these candidates "get it" when it comes to terrorism. RP doesn't have a clue on this important national security issue. Could you imagine though, if RP actually did have a clue on national security and wasn't always pandering to mentally challenged?