John Nichols: Ready, Ames, Fire: Straw Poll Winners, Losers

[marmar]

from The Nation:


BLOG | Posted 08/12/2007 @ 12:34pm
Ready, Ames, Fire: Straw Poll Winners, Losers
John Nichols


Here are the final results of the Iowa Republican Straw Poll, in which 14,302 ballots were cast:

1 Mitt Romney, 4,516 votes, 31.6 percent

2 Mike Huckabee, 2,587 votes, 18.1 percent

3 Sam Brownback, 2,192 votes, 15.3 percent

4 Tom Tancredo, 1,961 votes, 13.7 percent

5 Ron Paul, 1,305 votes, 9.1 percent

6 Tommy Thompson, 1,039 votes, 7.3 percent

7 Fred Thompson, 203 votes, 1.4 percent

8 Rudy Guiliani, 183 votes, 1.3 percent

...(snip)...

History trumped persistence. The Texas congressman finished well ahead of former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson, who had visited Iowa weekly since the start of the year and campaigned in every one of the state's 99 counties prior to the straw poll.

Thompson was the biggest loser Saturday. He had said he expected to finish in the top three. His sixth-place finish was a ticket out of the January caucuses. Bush's former Secretary of Health and Human Services left Ames before the straw poll results were announced, presumably to nurse his wounds before preparing a gracious statement to announce his exit from the national political stage.

The second biggest loser was the Republican party.

The 1999 straw poll drew 23,685 voters.

This year, with equally intense competition and a crowded field, and more media attention than ever, the turnout was down by almost 9,400. That does not suggest that enthusiasm for the Grand Old Party's current crop of contenders is anywhere near as high as it was when the party was competing to retake the White House in the waning days of Bill Clinton's presidency. Eight years of Bush appeared to have dampened spirits even among the party's most faithful. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters?bid=45&pid=222461

[Colobo]

1. I'm so happy to see the GOP going down in flames!