AMES, Iowa – Displaying the breadth and wealth of his campaign’s organizing skills, Mitt Romney won Iowa’s Republican presidential straw poll Saturday, giving him a needed bump to compete on the national stage while forcing others to consider whether to go forward.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, got 31.5 percent of the 14,302 ballots cast, compared with 18.1 percent for second-place finisher Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, 15.3 percent for Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, 13.7 percent for Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado and 9.1 percent for Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.

The non-binding poll on Iowa State University’s campus was the equivalent of a political state fair for Republicans, as the candidates chartered hundreds of buses and provided food, T-shirts and entertainment – as well as the $35 per person admission fee – for thousands who entered the state GOP’s massive fundraiser.

In many respects, the event appeared to be on a much smaller scale than the last straw poll eight years ago. The 14,302 total ballots cast was down substantially from the 23,685 cast at the last straw poll in 1999, potentially reflecting the unsettled field of Republican candidates as well as what polls have shown to be a large bloc of Iowa GOP voters undecided and dissatisfied with the current list of contenders.

The Republican Party of Iowa made strict assurances about the credibility of its voting procedures, including requiring voters to show a photo ID and dip their thumb in purple ink as was done in Iraq. Still, the results were delayed more than 75 minutes after one of 18 optical-scan machines malfunctioned. More than 1,500 ballots had to be hand counted, said Mary Tiffany, an Iowa GOP spokeswoman.

A Romney victory had been all but expected as he used his vast personal and campaign resources to laser focus on the straw poll as a first step en route to this winter’s first-in-the-nation caucuses. Romney spent more than the other contenders and the sea of people who poured off chartered buses and tossed on bright yellow “Team Mitt” T-shirts symbolized the campaign’s organizing.

But Romney’s win was muted somewhat by the fact that two prominent Republican contenders – former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain – eschewed participation. Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who has not formally announced his candidacy, also did not take part.

Still, all three were listed on the straw poll ballot. Fred Thompson finished seventh with 1.4 percent, Giuliani finished eighth at 1.3 percent, and McCain got 1 percent for 10th place.

“A win is a win,” said one top Romney adviser who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak publicly for the campaign. Still, the aide said Romney had been shooting for the 31 percent that then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush posted eight years ago in winning the event in an 11-person field.

Like Bush, Romney also was in an 11-person field.

Amid a carnival-like atmosphere that featured interest groups promoting causes ranging from National Rifle Association membership to fighting abortion and protecting Social Security, thousands of Iowans strolled the straw poll grounds on a sweltering weekend day. Candidate volunteers regularly asked potential voters if they had cast a ballot and, if not, how committed they were to a contender.

Even though the number of Republicans participating represented only a small fraction of the nearly 575,000 GOP voters considered active in the state, their balloting still held major significance in determining the early organizing capabilities of candidates who will have to mount get-out-the-vote tactics for the Iowa caucuses.

And amid the jockeying over the early primary and caucus calendar, the straw poll results may hold even more impact given the state’s first-in-the-nation Jan. 14 caucus date is expected to be moved even earlier.


The straw poll balloting traditionally winnows the field. In the days following the 1999 event, former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander, former Vice President Dan Quayle and future North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole shuttered their campaigns.

Tommy Thompson, the former Wisconsin governor, had repeatedly said that he would drop out of the race unless he finished in the top two. He left before his sixth place finish was announced and his spokesman was not available.

California Rep. Duncan Hunter also appeared to face a decision on his future. He finished ninth with 1.2 percent – below Fred Thompson and Giuliani. Chicago businessman John Cox finished last, getting 41 votes or less than 1 percent of the vote.

Even with the anticipated paring down of the GOP field, the dynamics are different with the expected addition of Fred Thompson and the potential candidacy in the fall of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who attended this year’s straw poll but labeled his presence as that of a “citizen” and not a candidate.

As each candidate took turns addressing supporters inside the university’s basketball arena, rallying in the form of a mini-nominating convention, Romney sought to portray himself as a political outsider.

“What brought us here is that change begins in Iowa and change begins today,” Romney said. “If there’s ever been a time that we needed to see change in Washington, it’s now. We need somebody in Washington who will get the job done, who will get Republicans and Democrats pulling together and actually deal with the problems we have.”

Echoing most of his rivals who favor a continued U.S. presence in Iraq, Romney said President Bush deserved some thanks amid the criticism the White House is facing.

“There’s no one that’s perfect,” Romney said. “But let’s not forget at least one thing-and that is he has kept us safe these last six years. And that has not been easy. That’s not an easy job.”


Brownback and Huckabee each had heavily courted Christian conservatives in the run up to the straw poll.

In addition to vowing to provide the deciding Supreme Court vote to end legal abortion, Brownback stressed his devotion to strengthening families, saying stronger families would reduce poverty and crime, while helping improve education.

“You can raise a good child in a single parent environment and we should celebrate when it happens, but it is more difficult,” he said. “The best place to raise a child is between a mom and a dad bonded together for life.”

Huckabee made a veiled challenge to Romney’s money and electability.

“I can’t buy you. I don’t have the money. Another thing, I can’t even rent you,” Huckabee said. “But today, the straw poll is a day that can change all of that because the straw poll is not about electing a straw man. It’s giving the voters of Iowa a chance to prove they are mature voters, thoughtful and savvy about the process.”

Paul, who has called for U.S. troops to leave Iraq, maintained his libertarian campaign theme of seeking limited government that relied upon strict constitutional interpretation.

“I believe 9/11, quite frankly, could have been prevented if we had had much more respect for the 2nd Amendment,” Paul said of the constitutional right to bear arms. To a mixture of applause and boos, he called his campaign one of “freedom, prosperity and peace.”

Tancredo, whose candidacy has been based largely on the theme of securing the nation’s borders and deporting millions of undocumented workers, called for criminal charges against municipal officials who declare their communities as “sanctuary cities.”

“This is our culture. Fight for it,” Tancredo said. “This is our nation. Take it back.”

Hours before the results were announced, Tommy Thompson used his rally tent to deliver a speech tinged with melancholy “thank yous” as his presidential campaign faced decision day.

“I love you, I thank you and we had a great ride, ladies and gentlemen,” the former governor said of his motorcycle-riding backers who rode Milwaukee-made Harley-Davidson’s into the straw poll grounds to start the day.

Later, a volunteer packed up boxes of chips and was asked where the candidate was.

“He’s gone,” the volunteer said. “He’s long gone.”

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(c) 2007, Chicago Tribune.

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AP-NY-08-11-07 2233EDT