The Iowa Republican Party’s governing board held a conference call Friday morning and decided to get rid of the Hawkeye State’s straw poll.
While the board voted unanimously in January to hold the straw poll, several presidential candidates’ reluctance to participate has done serious damage to the tradition that dates back to 1979. The poll’s importance has suffered in recent years, when it has been in an unreliable indicator of who will become the GOP presidential nominee.
The last two GOP presidential nominees did not win the straw poll. Mitt Romney won the straw poll in 2007, while Rep. Michele Bachmann won in 2011. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty dropped out of the presidential race one day after finishing third in the 2011 straw poll.
As a result, several candidates decided to rethink their participation in the poll. The Iowa straw poll catapulted former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee into the top tier of presidential candidates in 2007, but he has already decided to skip it this year. In an op-ed explaining his choice, Huckabee cited the “heavy concentration of staff and financial resources” as key factors that impacted his decision.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has also decided not to attend the straw poll, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker did not send any aides to straw poll planning meetings, according to the Des Moines Register.
The Iowa straw poll may also signify the diminishing level of influence Iowa has in determining who will ultimately serve as the GOP presidential nominee. The last two Republican nominees did not win the straw poll or the Iowa caucuses before moving on to the general election.
The caucuses have also suffered from the 2012 election cycle because of how Mitt Romney was initially declared the winner, before former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum triumphed in the final tally.
