Why the Iowa Straw Poll is no more
The Iowa Straw Poll, a high-profile Republican Party tradition for nearly four decades, is now dead.
The Iowa Republican Party on Friday in an early morning conference call.
Previously, several prominent Republicans 鈥� including former Florida Governor , former Arkansas Governor , and Florida Senator 聽鈥撀爃ave said they are not going to participate in this year鈥檚 event, which was planned for August 8.
"I've said since December that we would only hold a straw poll if the candidates wanted one, and this year that is just not the case," Iowa Republican Party Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said in a statement after the vote.
Des Moines Register's chief politics reporter Jennifer Jacobs tweeted minutes before the announcement:
Since 1979, the carnival-like summer event had been held prior to the contested Iowa Republican caucuses, and was meant to raise money for the state party.
The event faced a lot of criticism over the past years over its high costs for candidates and not reflecting the broader preferences of Iowa Republicans.
2007 straw poll winner and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney could not win the Iowa nominating caucuses the next year.
But Michele Bachmann鈥檚 selection in 2011 was the major blow. After her聽surprise win in the poll, then-Minnesota congresswoman finished at the back of the pack in the 2012 Iowa caucuses, and
Last January, Republican National Committee legal counsel John Ryder in a memo as 鈥渟imply a fundraising mechanism at an entertainment event鈥� with no connection 鈥渢o any primary, caucuses, or state convention.鈥�
"It is recommended that you continue to make clear to candidates, activists, and the public that the straw poll is unofficial and unscientific,鈥� the memo said.
Out of a total of six Iowa straw polls, three winners 鈥� George H.W. Bush in 1979, Bob Dole in 1995, and George W. Bush in 1999 鈥� went on to capture the Iowa GOP caucus the following year.
George W. Bush was the only straw poll winner to go all the way to win the Republican nomination and the presidential election in 2000.
The straw poll had traditionally been held on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, but this year the state party decided to move the site .
On Friday, Kaufman expressed his regret over the cancellation of the event.
鈥淭his step, while extremely distasteful for those of us who love the Straw Poll, [it] is necessary to strengthen our First in the Nation status and ensure our future nominee has the best chance possible to take back the White House in 2016.鈥�
However, as politics reporter for politico Kyle Cheney tweeted, the poll might come back again one day:
