Hutchinson News, KS
06-14-07
Brownback putting emphasis on Iowa event
The Ames Straw poll is non-binding and without a pair of GOP heavyweights, but
it could serve as a harbinger for the Kansas senator's presidential hopes.
TOPEKA - A summer of extensive campaigning in Iowa may show whether
Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback can jumpstart his long-shot bid for the presidency.
The conservative Republican announced plans this week to begin a four-day bus
tour on Monday that will take him to 27 towns in Iowa.
The trip comes as Brownback prepares to compete in the Aug. 11 Ames Straw
Poll, a non-binding GOP vote that Iowa political observers say could be an
important test of his campaign's early strength.
Steffen Schmidt, a political science professor at Iowa State University, said
Brownback could use the vote to bolster his standing in the race, particularly if he
could finish among the top three candidates in the poll.
In recent polls, Brownback has received backing from 1 to 3 percent of
prospective Republican voters according to pollreport.com, far behind betterfunded frontrunners Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney.
However, one of the reasons for the traditional first-in-the nation Iowa caucuses,
scheduled for January, is to give lesser-known candidates like Brownback a
stage, Schmidt said.
"It is one opportunity to get his message out and get a little buzz if he can do OK
in that thing," Schmidt said of the straw poll.
Something akin to a county fair meeting presidential politics, Schmidt said the
Ames Straw Poll, started in 1979, is a Republican fundraiser that might best be
described as "political theater."
Candidates basically buy the $30 tickets for the attendees who do voting at the
event at Iowa State. They also provide the transportation and pamper
prospective supporters with food and entertainment - which wouldn't be allowed
in a real election.
Dennis Goldford, a political science professor at Drake University, said the event
probably wouldn't produce substantive debates.
"It's like going to the fair for a day," Goldford said.
Still, in years past, the straw poll has helped thin the field of candidates because
contenders who faltered in the vote saw their support begin to drop elsewhere,
he said.
"The reason this matters is because if somebody does not do very well, it has the
potential for drying up your funding sources," Goldford said.
Exactly how much impact the straw poll will have remains to be seen.
Giuliani and McCain have announced that they plan to skip the event, leaving
Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, as the lone frontrunner
competing.
It's also unclear whether actor and former Sen. Fred Thompson will compete in
the poll. Thompson is drawing support as a favored candidates of conservative
Republicans, although he hasn't said whether he'll run yet.
No matter who competes, Schmidt said he expected the straw poll to still receive
heavy media coverage, potentially giving a boost to second-tier candidates who
do well.
Conservatives like Brownback and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee might
be best in line to do well, he said.
However, Goldford likened the situation to one facing medal winners at the 1980
Moscow Olympics, which the U.S. boycotted. Any victories at the event will come
with an asterisk, he said.
Doing well in Iowa has become a top focus for Brownback, who contends his
farming background and conservative positions will play well with citizens of the
Hawkeye State.