Vander Plaats over Branstad in three county straw polls

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Three Republican straw polls for the upcoming primary for the governor’s race produced interesting results over the weekend: In all three polls, which were conducted Friday night and Saturday morning, Bob Vander Plaats beat out former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, with state rep. Rod Roberts coming in a distant third.

“A lot people have already coronated Branstad, but it’s a lot closer than that, especially among activists,” said AJ Spiker, chair of the Story County GOP. “Vander Plaats is a little stronger with the activists, but with the people who vote in primary, who knows.”

In Dallas County, Vander Plaats edged Branstad 57 to 50, with Roberts getting 26 votes. In Woodbury County, Vander Plaats’ home territory, he took 44 votes, while Branstad took 13 and Roberts seven. In Story County, it was 22 for Vander Plaats, 18 for Branstad and 5 for Roberts.

Don’t read too much into these results. After all, these three straw polls make up less than 250 hard-core Republican voters. But insiders look at the results as an indication of Vander Plaats’ organization in these counties.

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2010/03/08/vander-plaats-over-branstad-in-two-county-straw-polls/