{{Infobox event , title = Iowa Straw Poll , image = 2011 Ames Straw Poll logo.png , image_size = , caption = 2011 logo , venue = Central Iowa Expo , place = Ames,

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, USA , also known as = , type =

Straw poll A straw poll, straw vote, or straw ballot is an ad hoc or unofficial voting, vote. It is used to show the popular opinion on a certain matter, and can be used to help politicians know the majority opinion and help them decide what to say in order ...

, theme = , cause = Republican U.S. presidential candidate selection process , patrons = , organizers =

Iowa Republican Party The Republican Party of Iowa (RPI) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Iowa. The State Central Committee is chaired by Jeff Kaufmann. The RPI operates the Republican side of the Iowa caucuses and previously sponsored the ...

, participants = Republican Party , url = , website = , notes = {{ElectionsIA The Iowa Straw Poll (also known as the Ames Straw Poll) was a presidential

straw poll A straw poll, straw vote, or straw ballot is an ad hoc or unofficial voting, vote. It is used to show the popular opinion on a certain matter, and can be used to help politicians know the majority opinion and help them decide what to say in order ...

and fundraising event for the

Republican Party of Iowa The Republican Party of Iowa (RPI) is the affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party in Iowa. The State Central Committee is chaired by Jeff Kaufmann. The RPI operates the Republican side of the Iowa caucu ...

. It was held six times, traditionally in late summer approximately six months in advance of contested presidential

Iowa caucuses The Iowa caucuses are quadrennial electoral events for the Democratic and Republican parties in the U.S. state of Iowa. Unlike primary elections, where registered voters cast ballots at polling places on election day, Iowa caucuses are ...

, from 1979 until 2011, on the campus of

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

in Ames. The event attracted both praise and criticism, with supporters noting that it raised funds for the

and winnowed large fields of presidential candidates. Critics asserted that it catered to extremist candidates and put a financial squeeze on campaigns. The poll itself held a mixed record as a

bellwether A bellwether is a leader or an indicator of trends.bellwether
" ''Cambridge Dictionary''. Re ...

for either the Iowa caucuses or the GOP nomination; on three occasions (

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

in '79,

Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Party leaders of the United States Senate, Republican Leader of th ...

in '95, and

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

in '99) the winner of the straw poll also won the Iowa caucuses the next year, but only twice ('95 and '99) did these candidates win the GOP nomination. Only one winner of the straw poll, George W. Bush, won the presidency. On June 12, 2015, the Republican Party of Iowa announced that the straw poll will no longer be held.{{cite web, title=It's over: the end of the Iowa Straw Poll, url=http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/its-over-end-iowa-straw-poll-n374346, work=NBC News, date=June 12, 2015, access-date=June 12, 2015 A similar poll (also at times referred to as the ''Iowa Straw Poll'') has been conducted at the Iowa State Fair since 2015.

Format

The poll took place among attendees of a

fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

dinner benefiting the

. Before the vote, each candidate was given an opportunity to make a short speech to the attendees. The poll has been described as a cross between a political convention and a county fair, where Iowa voters had a chance to mingle, eat barbecue and have a little fun. The party divided the venue into sections and auctioned each to the candidates, who could then set up booths to present their case to the voters. The larger areas and those closest to the entrance tended to fetch the highest price. In 2011 bidding started at $15,000 and ranged to as high as $31,000 (bid by Ron Paul).{{cite news , title=Ron Paul outbids rivals for prime real estate at Iowa straw poll , url=http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-iowa-straw-poll-20110623,0,6023685.story?track=rss , last=Abcarian , first=Robin , newspaper=

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

, date=June 24, 2011 , access-date=June 24, 2011 Non-Republicans were allowed to vote in the Iowa Straw Poll. However, for the later years of the poll, all voters were required to be at least 16 1/2 years of age, be a legal resident of

or a student attending an Iowa university or college, and purchase a

ticket Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a to ...

, although some campaigns paid the fee for their supporters. Voters had their hands stamped or their

thumb The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb ...

s dipped in ink when entering the voting area so that they could not vote twice. Ballots were put into electronic voting machines.

Significance

As a

, the Iowa Straw Poll's results were non-binding and had no official effect on the

presidential primaries Each of the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five territories of the United States holds either primary elections or caucuses to help nominate individual candidates for president of the United States. This process is designed t ...

. However, the straw poll was frequently seen as a first test of

organization An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences) is an legal entity, entity—such as ...

al strength in Iowa by the

news media The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public. These include News agency, news agencies, newspapers, news magazines, News broadcasting, news channels etc. History Some of the fir ...

and party insiders. As such, it could be beneficial for the winning candidate on the national level because it built momentum for their campaign, enhanced their aura of inevitability, or showed off a superior field operation.{{cite news , title=Bush wins Iowa GOP straw poll , url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/08/14/iowa.saturday.02/ , author1=Yagielski, Janine , author2=Kathleen Hayden , publisher=CNN , date=August 15, 1999 , access-date=July 23, 2007, archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070702075339/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/08/14/iowa.saturday.02/, archive-date= July 2, 2007 , url-status= live Nevertheless, in the six times the poll was held, the winner of the Iowa Straw Poll went on to win the

only three times for that same election cycle. The winner of the straw poll won the Republican presidential nomination twice for that same election cycle. Two additional winners of the straw poll (

and

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

) won the Republican nomination, but not in the same election cycle that they won the straw poll. Usually the winner or the second-place finisher in the straw poll went on to win the

, although in 2011,

Rick Santorum Richard John Santorum Sr. ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, author, and political commentator who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1995 to 2007. He was the Senate's Chairman of the United Sta ...

placed fourth in the straw poll before winning the caucuses the following January. On a more local level, the Iowa Straw Poll gave a major boost to the local

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

.{{cite web , title=Behind the Straw Poll , url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/election/july-dec99/straw_poll_background.html , work=Online NewsHour , publisher=

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

, date=August 13, 1999 , access-date=July 23, 2007 , archive-date=September 11, 2007 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070911161717/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/election/july-dec99/straw_poll_background.html , url-status=dead Thousands of people, including

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

s, campaign staffers, and voters, arrived in town each election cycle around the time of the poll. The Iowa Straw Poll was one of the Iowa Republican Party's most lucrative fundraising events. In fall 2020, one Republican pundit compared the upcoming Georgia and Senate runoffs to this event: "It'll be like Iowa during the straw poll era. A modern-day Ames in the Peach State."

Criticisms

In its early years, the Iowa Straw Poll was criticized for having many voters who were not residents of

. Candidates would

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

in supporters from other

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

. However, beginning with the 1999 Iowa Straw Poll, all voters were required to show proof of legal residence in Iowa. Before the 1999 Iowa Straw Poll, cheating was perceived to be widespread:{{Citation needed, reason=Article referenced does not state this as fact, date=June 2011 many individuals managed to vote repeatedly by visiting the

bathroom A bathroom is a room in which people wash their bodies or parts thereof. It can contain one or more of the following plumbing fixtures: a shower, a bathtub, a bidet, and a sink (also known as a wash basin in the United Kingdom). A toilet is al ...

and washing off the stamp on the back of their hand which indicated they had voted. Beginning with the 1999 Iowa Straw Poll, the ink used for hand-stamping was changed to one that resisted being washed off. {{cite web , title=The Ames Straw Poll , url=http://race42008.com/2007/04/26/the-ames-straw-poll/ , author=MattC , date=April 26, 2007 , access-date=July 23, 2007 In 2007, instead of hand-stamping,

s were dipped in indelible ink. {{cite news , title=Romney Wins Iowa Straw Poll As Expected , url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/11/AR2007081100763.html , last=Glover , first=Mike , newspaper=

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

, date=August 11, 2007 , access-date= August 11, 2007 In 2007, the Iowa Straw Poll was criticized for having only 14,302 voters participating, compared to about 23,000 voters eight years earlier in the 1999 polls, and for failing to have three of the four leading candidates participate in the poll,

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

and

Fred Thompson Freddie Dalton Thompson (August 19, 1942 – November 1, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, lobbyist, columnist, actor, and radio personality. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as a Unite ...

. Consequently, the votes received by

and second-place finisher

Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (, born August 24, 1955) is an American diplomat, political commentator, Baptist minister, and politician serving as the 29th United States Ambassador to Israel, United States ambassador to Israel since 2025. A member of ...

failed to demonstrate the consequence of full competition among all candidates.{{cite news , first=Dan , last=Balz , title=Enough Already With the Straw Poll , date=August 13, 2007 , url =http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/08/13/straw_poll_weeds_the_field_but.html?hpid=topnews , newspaper =Washington Post , access-date = September 9, 2007 The poll was criticized for heavily favoring better-funded candidates, as better-funded candidates were able to afford

transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

costs to

in more supporters and to reimburse those supporters for meal

s. In 2012, Iowa Governor

Terry Branstad Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is a retired American politician who served as the 39th and 42nd governor of Iowa (1983–1999; 2011–2017) and the United States ambassador to China (2017–2020). A member of the Repu ...

said "I think the straw poll has outlived its usefulness" and "It has been a great fundraiser for the party but I think its days are over." The party eventually decided to cancel the 2015 contest and all future contests on June 12, 2015; several high-profile candidates had indicated they would not participate in that year's poll, and the party stated that the poll was causing a distraction from the state's official caucus several months after the straw poll.

Results

Summary of results

{, class="wikitable" ! width="16%" , Date ! width="16%" , Associated primaries and/or elections ! width="16%" , Winner of Iowa Straw Poll ! width="16%" , Winner of

Iowa Caucus The Iowa caucuses are quadrennial electoral events for the Democratic and Republican parties in the U.S. state of Iowa. Unlike primary elections, where registered voters cast ballots at polling places on election day, Iowa caucuses are ...

! width="16%" , Winner of Republican

primaries Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

! width="16%" , Winner of presidential election ! width="4%" , Price of a dinner ticket , - , {{dts, August 1979 , 1980 Republican primaries
1980 presidential election ,

, George H. W. Bush ,

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

, Ronald Reagan , , - , {{dts, September 12, 1987 , 1988 Republican primaries
1988 presidential election ,

Pat Robertson Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (March 22, 1930 – June 8, 2023) was an American Media proprietor, media mogul, Televangelism, televangelist, political commentator, presidential candidate, and charismatic movement, charismatic minister. Rober ...

, George H. W. Bush , George H. W. Bush , , - , {{dts, August 19, 1995 ,

1996 Republican primaries From January 29 to June 4, 1996, voters of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party chose its nominee for President of the United States, president in the 1996 United States presidential election. Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, the f ...

1996 presidential election , Bob Dole,

Phil Gramm William Philip Gramm (born July 8, 1942) is an American economist and politician who represented Texas in both chambers of United States Congress, Congress. Though he began his political career as a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Gr ...

(tie) , Bob Dole , Bob Dole ,

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, , - , {{dts, August 14, 1999 , 2000 Republican primaries
2000 presidential election ,

, George W. Bush , George W. Bush , George W. Bush , $25 , - , {{dts, August 11, 2007 , 2008 Republican primaries
2008 presidential election ,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, $35{{cite news , title=Iowa Straw Poll Regaining Luster , url=http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/07/20/news/local/doc46a04563cde01862465366.txt , last=Dorman , first=Todd , newspaper=

Quad-City Times The ''Quad-City Times'' is a daily morning newspaper based in Davenport, Iowa, and circulated throughout the Quad Cities metropolitan area, including Davenport, Bettendorf and Scott County in Iowa; and Moline, East Moline, Rock Island, an ...

, date=July 20, 2007 , access-date=July 23, 2007{{cite news , title=Straw Poll Details Jell , url=http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070625/NEWS/70625033/1001 , last=Beaumont , first=Thomas , newspaper=

Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cab ...

, date=June 25, 2007 , access-date=September 6, 2007 {{dead link, date=January 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes , - , {{dts, August 13, 2011 , 2012 Republican primaries
2012 presidential election ,

Michele Bachmann Michele Marie Bachmann (; née Amble; born April 6, 1956) is an American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2007 until 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican P ...

, Mitt Romney , Barack Obama , $30{{cite web , title=Sen. Rand Paul happy father did so well in straw poll , url=http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/local/Sen-Rand-Paul-happy-father-did-so-well-in-straw-poll-127799653.html , publisher= wpsdlocal6 , date=August 15, 2011 , access-date=August 15, 2011 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004220028/http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/local/Sen-Rand-Paul-happy-father-did-so-well-in-straw-poll-127799653.html , archive-date=October 4, 2011 , df=mdy-all

Detailed results

1979

won the first Iowa Straw Poll, which had low

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...

, as well as the caucus itself, but

won the Republican nomination.{{cite news , title=Straw poll No-Shows Zap Iowa's Relevance, Some Fear , url=http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070618/NEWS09/706180340/-1/LIFE04&template=printart , last=Beaumont , first=Thomas , newspaper=

, date=June 18, 2007 , access-date=July 23, 2007 {{dead link, date=January 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes

1987

Source of results:

{{cite web, title=Straw Poll Info , url=http://www.iowagop.net/downloads/Straw.Poll.Info.pdf , publisher=

, access-date=September 6, 2007 , archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20080102195727/http://www.iowagop.net/downloads/Straw.Poll.Info.pdf , archive-date=January 2, 2008 , url-status=usurped , df=mdy-all {, class="wikitable" style="margin:auto;" , - ! Place ! Candidate ! Votes ! Percentage , - , 1 ,

, 1,293 , 33.6% , - , 2 ,

, 958 , 24.9% , - , 3 ,

, 864 , 22.5% , - , 4 ,

Jack Kemp Jack French Kemp (July 13, 1935 – May 2, 2009) was an American politician, professional Gridiron football, football player, and U.S. Army veteran. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party from New York, he served a ...

, 520 , 13.5% , - , 5 , Pete duPont , 160 , 4.2% , - , 6 , Alan Heslop , 13 , 0.3% , - , 7 ,

Alexander Haig Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (; 2 December 192420 February 2010) was United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House chief of staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to and in between these cabine ...

, 12 , 0.3% , - , 8 , Ben Fernandez , 8 , 0.2% , - , 9 , Others , 15 , 0.4% , - , Total , , 3,843 , 100%

won the 1987 Iowa Straw Poll. Despite finishing second in the Iowa Straw Poll,

won the

. Despite finishing third in the Iowa Straw Poll,

won the Republican nomination and the presidency.{{cite web , title=For Republicans, Iowa Straw Poll Could Offer Some Answers , url=http://rothenbergpoliticalreport.blogspot.com/2007/05/for-republicans-iowa-straw-poll-could.html , last=Rothenburg , first=Stuart , work=The Rothenburg Political Report , date=May 21, 2007 , access-date=July 23, 2007, archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070718160737/http://rothenbergpoliticalreport.blogspot.com/2007/05/for-republicans-iowa-straw-poll-could.html, archive-date= July 18, 2007 , url-status= live

1995

Source of results:

{, class="wikitable" style="margin:auto;" , - ! Place ! Candidate ! Votes ! Percentage , - , 1 (tie) ,

, 2,582 , 24.4% , - , 1 (tie) ,

, 2,582 , 24.4% , - , 3 ,

Pat Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan ( ; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative author, political commentator, and politician. He was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. He ...

, 1,922 , 18.1% , - , 4 ,

Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee from 1 ...

, 1,156 , 10.9% , - , 5 ,

Alan Keyes Alan Lee Keyes (born August 7, 1950) is an American politician, political scientist, and perennial candidate who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 1985 to 1987. A member of the Republican P ...

, 804 , 7.6% , - , 6 , Morry Taylor , 803 , 7.6% , - , 7 ,

Richard Lugar Richard Green Lugar ( ; April 4, 1932 – April 28, 2019) was an American politician who served as a United States Senate, United States Senator from Indiana from 1977 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republ ...

, 466 , 4.4% , - , 8 ,

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Wilson previously served as a United S ...

, 129 , 1.2% , - , 9 , Bob Dornan , 87 , 0.8% , - , 10 ,

Arlen Specter Arlen Specter (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was an American lawyer, author and politician who served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1981 to 2011. Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965, then a Republican fr ...

, 67 , 0.6% , - , Total , , 10,958 , 100% 10,958 voters participated in the 1995 Iowa Straw Poll.

and

won with a tie. Bob Dole won the Republican nomination.

1999

Sources of results:

{{cite web , title=The First GOP Test: Online NewsHour Coverage of the Iowa Straw Poll , url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/election/july-dec99/straw_poll.html , work=Online NewsHour , publisher=

, access-date=July 23, 2007, archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070718023921/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/election/july-dec99/straw_poll.html, archive-date= July 18, 2007 , url-status= dead {, class="wikitable" style="margin:auto;" , - ! Place ! Candidate ! Votes ! Percentage , - , 1 ,

, 7,418 , 31.3% , - , 2 ,

Steve Forbes Malcolm Stevenson Forbes Jr. (; born July 18, 1947) is an American publishing executive and politician who is the editor-in-chief of ''Forbes'', a business magazine. He is the son of longtime ''Forbes'' publisher Malcolm Forbes and the grandso ...

, 4,921 , 20.8% , - , 3 ,

Elizabeth Dole Mary Elizabeth Alexander Dole (née Hanford; born July 29, 1936)Mary Ella Cathey Hanford, "Asbury and Hanford Families: Newly Discovered Genealogical Information" ''The Historical Trail'' 33 (1996), pp. 44–45, 49. is an American attorney, auth ...

, 3,410 , 14.4% , - , 4 , Gary Bauer , 2,114 , 8.9% , - , 5 , Patrick Buchanan , 1,719 , 7.3% , - , 6 ,

, 1,428 , 6.0% , - , 7 ,

, 1,101 , 4.6% , - , 8 ,

Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...

, 916 , 3.9% , - , 9 ,

Orrin Hatch Orrin Grant Hatch (March 22, 1934 – April 23, 2022) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Utah from 1977 to 2019. Hatch's 42-year Senate tenure made him the longest-serving Republican U.S. senat ...

, 558 , 2.4% , - , 10 ,

, 83 , 0.4% , - , 11 ,

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the pre ...

, 9 , 0.04% , - , 12 , Bob Smith , 8 , 0.03% , - , Total , , 23,685 , 100% A record 23,685 voters participated in the 1999 Iowa Straw Poll, held at the Hilton Coliseum.

was cemented as the

frontrunner ''FrontRunner'' is a Commuter rail in North America, commuter railway operated by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) that runs along the Wasatch Front in north-central Utah with service from Ogden Central station in central Weber County, Utah, ...

by the results of the Iowa Straw Poll and eventually went on to win the Iowa caucuses;

, who had committed a fair amount of cash to winning the poll, was embarrassed by his second-place showing.

, who had spent comparably less, considered her third-place finish a boost to her flagging campaign (though she dropped out two months later due to lackluster fundraising).

, who later emerged as Bush's only serious competition in the GOP primaries, received just 83 votes in the poll, but was not an official candidate at the time; he was also considered unpopular in Iowa due to his opposition to ethanol subsidies. Due to poor results in the Iowa Straw Poll,

and

both dropped out of the presidential race immediately after the Iowa Straw Poll.

2007

Sources of results:

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

,{{cite web , title=Romney Wins Iowa GOP Straw Poll , url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/romney-wins-iowa-gop-straw-poll/ , last=Ververs , first=Vaughn , work=

, date=August 11, 2007 , access-date=August 11, 2007 ''

'',{{cite news, title=Romney Wins Straw Poll, Huckabee in 2nd , author1=Beaumont, Thomas , author2=Jennifer Jacobs , url=http://www.dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070811/NEWS/70811009/1001&lead=1 , newspaper=

, date=August 11, 2007 , access-date=August 11, 2007

KCCI KCCI (channel 8) is a television station in Des Moines, Iowa, United States, affiliated with CBS. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on Ninth Street in downtown Des Moines and a KCCI Tower, transmitter in Alleman, Iowa, A ...

{{cite web , title=Mitt Romney Wins Straw Poll , url=http://www.kcci.com/politics/13872905/detail.html , publisher=

, date=August 12, 2007 , access-date=August 12, 2007 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927201011/http://www.kcci.com/politics/13872905/detail.html , archive-date=September 27, 2007 , df=mdy-all {, class="wikitable" style="margin:auto;" , - ! Place ! Candidate ! Votes ! Percentage , - , 1 ,

, 4,516 , 31.6% , - , 2 ,

, 2,587 , 18.1% , - , 3 ,

Sam Brownback Samuel Dale Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011 and as the List of governors of Kansas, 46th governor of K ...

, 2,192 , 15.3% , - , 4 ,

Tom Tancredo Thomas Gerard Tancredo (; born December 20, 1945) is an American politician from Colorado, who represented Colorado's 6th congressional district, the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to ...

, 1,961 , 13.7% , - , 5 ,

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas' ...

, 1,305 , 9.1% , - , 6 ,

Tommy Thompson Tommy George Thompson (born November 19, 1941) is an American politician who served as the 19th United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2001 to 2005 in the Presidency of George W. Bush, cabinet of President of the United State ...

, 1,039 , 7.3% , - , 7 ,

, 203 , 1.4% , - , 8 ,

, 183 , 1.3% , - , 9 , Duncan Hunter , 174 , 1.2% , - , 10 ,

, 101 , 0.7% , - , 11 , John H. Cox , 41 , 0.3% , - , Total , , 14,302 , 100% 14,302 ballots were cast in the 2007 Iowa-StrawPollNoShows" In June, two months before the poll, presidential candidates

and

announced that they would skip the 2007 Iowa Straw Poll, while

had yet to officially enter the race. The

decided to include their names on the ballots anyway.{{cite news , title=Giuliani, McCain Skipping Ames Straw Poll , url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/06/giuliani_skipping_ames.html , first=Chris , last=Cilliza , work=The Fix , publisher=

, date=June 6, 2007 , access-date=July 23, 2007 Mitt Romney won the straw poll, as had been widely predicted prior to the event.

dropped out of the presidential campaign on August 12, 2007, one day after finishing in sixth place in the Iowa Straw Poll.

2011

The 2011 Iowa Straw Poll was held on August 13, 2011, at the

Hilton Coliseum James H. Hilton Coliseum, is a 14,267-seat multi-purpose arena located in Ames, Iowa. The arena opened in 1971. It is home to the Iowa State University Cyclones men's and women's basketball teams, wrestling, gymnastics and volleyball teams. Over ...

in Ames, Iowa. Sources of results: ''

Washington Examiner The ''Washington Examiner'' is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative news magazine based in Washington, D.C., consisting of a website and a weekly printed magazine. It is owned by Philip Anschutz through MediaDC, a subsidiar ...

'' and

National Journal ''National Journal'' is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes ...

{, class="wikitable" style="margin:auto;" , - ! Place ! Candidate ! Votes ! Percentage , - , 1 ,

, 4,823 , 28.6% , - , 2 ,

, 4,671 , 27.7% , - , 3 ,

Tim Pawlenty Timothy James Pawlenty ( ; born November 27, 1960) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served from 2003 to 2011 as the 39th governor of Minnesota. A member of the Republican Party, Pawlenty served in the Minnesota House ...

, 2,293 , 13.6% , - , 4 ,

, 1,657 , 9.8% , - , 5 ,

Herman Cain Herman Cain (December 13, 1945July 30, 2020) was an American businessman and Tea Party movement activist in the Republican Party. Cain graduated from Morehouse College with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. He then earned a master's degree ...

, 1,456 , 8.6% , - , 6 ,

Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 in the first administration of Donald Trump. He previously served as the 47th governor of Texas fr ...

(write-in) , 718 , 4.3% , - , 7 ,

, 567 , 3.4% , - , 8 ,

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...

, 385 , 2.3% , - , 9 , Jon Huntsman , 69 , 0.4% , - , 10 , Thaddeus McCotter , 35 , 0.2% , - , — , Scattering , 218 , 1.30% , - , Total , , 16,892 , 100% Michelle Bachmann brought country superstar

Randy Travis Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country and gospel music singer and songwriter, as well as a film and television actor. Active since 1979, he has recorded over 20 studio albums and ...

to the 2011 Ames Straw Poll and handed out flyers instructing voters that a free concert would be granted only after voting in the Ames Straw Poll and with this strategy Bachmann won the Straw Poll. Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman were on the ballot but did not actively compete in the 2011 straw poll. The day after the poll, on August 14,

announced his withdrawal from the race after his third-place finish.

, who was not on the poll ballot and only appeared as a

write-in A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

candidate, formally announced his candidacy while in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

on the same day that the poll took place.{{cite news, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/us/politics/14perry.html?_r=1&hp, title=Promising Better Direction, Perry Enters Race, last=Parker, first=Ashley, newspaper=

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, date=August 13, 2011, access-date=August 14, 2011

2015

In 2015, the Republican Party of Iowa, concerned about the cost charged by Iowa State University in 2011, publicly solicited bids from other potential event sites.{{cite web , title=Iowa GOP may move straw poll to new venue amid bilking concerns , url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/iowa-gop-straw-poll-venue-115192.html , last=Hohmann , first=James , publisher=

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

, date=February 13, 2015 , access-date=March 1, 2015 On March 12, 2015, Boone was announced as the winning bidder, after a vote by GOP party board members.{{cite news , title=Iowa Straw Poll is moving to Boone , url=http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/03/12/iowa-straw-poll-location-date-set/70201012/ , last=Jacbos , first=Jennifer , newspaper=

The Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cab ...

, date=March 12, 2015 , access-date=March 12, 2015 However, several of the Republican presidential candidates—including

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. A member of the Bush family, Bush political family, he was an unsuccessful candidate for pre ...

Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (; born July 9, 1955) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A membe ...

, and

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (; born May 28, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat serving since 2025 as the 72nd United States Secretary of State, United States secretary of state. A member of the Republican Party (United States) , Rep ...

—announced that they would not take part in the straw poll. On June 12, 2015, the Republican Party of Iowa announced that, as the result of a unanimous vote, the straw poll would no longer be held due to the decline in candidate support. Despite the absence of an official straw poll, the 2015

Iowa State Fair The Iowa State Fair is an annual state fair held in Des Moines, Iowa, every August. It began in 1854 and has been held on the Iowa State Fairgrounds since 1886. It is based in the state capital Des Moines, Iowa over an 11 day period in August ...

held an informal poll of its attendees (both Republican and Democrat), and found

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

to be the most favored GOP candidate, and

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

the most popular Democrat.{{cite web , url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/251279-iowa-state-fair-attendees-pick-sanders-over-clinton/ , title=Iowa State Fair attendees pick Sanders over Clinton , last=Richardson , first=Bradford , date=August 17, 2015 , website=www.thehill.com , publisher=The Hill , access-date=2015-08-20

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...

went on to win the Iowa GOP caucuses, defeating Donald Trump by 4 percent, while

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

defeated Bernie Sanders by less than 1 percent on the Democratic side.

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

* {{usurped,
Official site of the Iowa Straw Poll
}
Official site of the Iowa Republican Party, which organizes the Iowa Straw Poll

{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113120740/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/election/july-dec99/straw_poll_background.html , date=November 13, 2012
Discussion of history of the Iowa Straw Poll
{{U.S. presidential primaries {{United States presidential election, 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Iowa Straw Poll (1979-2011) 1979 establishments in Iowa 2015 disestablishments in Iowa Ames, Iowa Recurring events disestablished in 2015 Recurring events established in 1979 United States presidential straw polls