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50-612: The Iowa Straw Poll (also known as the Ames Straw Poll ) was a presidential straw poll and fundraising event for the Republican Party of Iowa . It was held six times, traditionally in late summer approximately six months in advance of contested presidential Iowa caucuses , from 1979 until 2011, on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames . The event attracted both praise and criticism, with supporters noting that it raised funds for

100-526: A fundraising dinner benefiting the Iowa Republican Party . 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

150-596: A straw (thin plant stalk) held up to see in what direction the wind blows, in this case, the metaphorical wind of group opinion. A formal straw poll is common in American political caucuses . Such straw polls can be taken before selecting delegates and voting on resolutions . The results of straw polls are taken by the media to influence delegates in caucus later (as well as delegates to political conventions), and thus serve as important precursors. Straw polls are also scheduled informally by other organizations interested in

200-466: A ticket , although some campaigns paid the fee for their supporters. Voters had their hands stamped or their thumbs dipped in ink when entering the voting area so that they could not vote twice. Ballots were put into electronic voting machines . As a straw poll , the Iowa Straw Poll's results were non-binding and had no official effect on the presidential primaries . However, the straw poll

250-530: A write-in candidate, formally announced his candidacy while in South Carolina on the same day that the poll took place. 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. On March 12, 2015, Boone was announced as the winning bidder, after a vote by GOP party board members. However, several of

300-609: A campaign most wants to bring out on election day. Field is generally also tasked with running local "storefront" campaign offices as well as organizing phone banks and staging locations for canvasses and other campaign events. On the statewide level, field departments are generally organized by geography with an overall statewide field director who oversees the efforts of several regional field directors who in turn manage several local offices. Other field workers below this level include: In addition to voter persuasion and voter identification, field staff will often provide information for

350-524: 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, Tim Pawlenty announced his withdrawal from the race after his third-place finish. Rick Perry , who was not on the poll ballot and only appeared as

400-414: 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. George H. W. Bush won

450-446: A landline phone, being the party that answers the phone, being willing to answer the poll questions, and being a " likely voter " based on pollster criteria. Response bias occurs when respondents do not indicate their true beliefs, such as in bias due to intentional manipulation by respondents, haste, social pressure, or confusion; such biases may be present in any polling situation. Wording of questions may also inject bias, although this

500-563: A period of months, conducted with interim results publicized, or even conducted with explicit permission to vote multiple times. The meaning of results from the varying poll types is disputed. Opinion polls are generally conducted with statistical selection controls in place and are thus called "scientific", while straw polls and honor-system polls are conducted among self-selected populations and are called "unscientific". However, as predictors of poll results among larger populations (i.e., elections), each method has known flaws. A margin of error

550-465: A reputation as a meaningful straw poll during the presidential campaign because of its large voter turnout and relatively high media recognition, as well as Iowa's being the first state to vote in caucuses before the primaries. In 2015 the Iowa Republican Party voted to abolish the poll, after a majority of presidential candidates declined to participate. The Iowa State Fair Straw Polls for both

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600-450: A set of policies requires a large team to research and write each plank. Researchers also provide information to the campaign on issues and the backgrounds of candidates (including the candidate they work for) in order to be aware of skeletons in the various candidates' closets. The latter practice is known as opposition research . On smaller campaigns this is often folded into the communications department. The finance department coordinates

650-593: Is enough support for an idea to devote more meeting time to it, and (when not a secret ballot) for the attendees to see who is on which side of a question. However, in meetings subject to Robert's Rules of Order , motions to take straw polls are not allowed. Among political bodies, straw polls often are scheduled for events at which many people interested in the polling question can be expected to vote. Sometimes polls conducted without ordinary voting controls in place (i.e., on an honor system, such as in online polls ) are also called "straw polls". The idiom may allude to

700-584: Is intrinsic in any subset polling method, and is a mathematical function of the difference in size between the subset and the larger population; sampling error is constant across different poll methods with the same sample sizes. Selection bias , nonresponse bias, or coverage bias occurs when the conditions for subset polling significantly differ from the conditions for the larger poll or election; event-based straw polls, where registration often closely mirrors voter registration, suffer less from nonresponse bias than opinion polls, where inclusion generally means owning

750-428: Is more likely in a telephone setting than in an event-based ballot setting. By relying on identity information, such as that publicly traceable to telephone numbers or voter registration addresses and that voluntarily provided by respondents such as age and gender, polls can be made more scientific. Straw polls may be improved by: asking identity questions, tracing group-based trends, and publishing statistical studies of

800-536: 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, Lamar Alexander and Dan Quayle both dropped out of the presidential race immediately after the Iowa Straw Poll. Sources of results: CBS News , Des Moines Register , KCCI 14,302 ballots were cast in

850-501: The Iowa caucuses 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 ( George H. W. Bush and Mitt Romney ) 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

900-447: The Republican Party of Iowa 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 for either the Iowa caucuses or the GOP nomination; on three occasions ( George H. W. Bush in '79, Bob Dole in '95, and George W. Bush in '99) the winner of

950-538: The U.S. presidential election . Well-known American straw polls include the Ames Straw Poll and the Texas Straw Poll , both conducted on behalf of their respective state Republican Party organizations. Being run by private organizations, they are not subject to public oversight or verifiability. However, they provide important interactive dialogue among movements within large groups, reflecting trends like organization and motivation. The Ames straw poll achieved

1000-533: 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: many individuals managed to vote repeatedly by visiting the bathroom 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. In 2007, instead of hand-stamping, thumbs were dipped in indelible ink. In 2007,

1050-443: The 2007 Iowa-StrawPollNoShows" In June, two months before the poll, presidential candidates Rudy Giuliani and John McCain announced that they would skip the 2007 Iowa Straw Poll, while Fred Thompson had yet to officially enter the race. The Iowa Republican Party decided to include their names on the ballots anyway. Mitt Romney won the straw poll, as had been widely predicted prior to the event. Tommy Thompson dropped out of

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1100-640: The 2015 Iowa State Fair held an informal poll of its attendees (both Republican and Democrat), and found Donald Trump to be the most favored GOP candidate, and Bernie Sanders the most popular Democrat. Ted Cruz went on to win the Iowa GOP caucuses, defeating Donald Trump by 4 percent, while Hillary Clinton defeated Bernie Sanders by less than 1 percent on the Democratic side. Straw poll Straw polls provide dialogue among movements within large groups. Impromptu straw polls often are taken to see if there

1150-402: 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 , John McCain and Fred Thompson . Consequently, the votes received by Mitt Romney and second-place finisher Mike Huckabee failed to demonstrate

1200-721: The Politburo and the Standing Committee . Straw polls are contrasted with opinion polls , usually conducted by telephone and based on samples of the voting public. Straw polls can also be contrasted with honor-system polls (such as online polls), in which ordinary voting controls are absent. In an ordinary event-based straw poll, controls common to elections are enforced: voting twice is prohibited; polls are not open for inordinately long periods of time; interim results are not publicized before polls close; etc. Honor-system polls may be conducted wholly online, conducted at one location over

1250-547: The Republican and Democratic races were conducted at the Iowa State Fair instead. The U.S. territories of Guam and since 2024 Puerto Rico hold presidential straw polls during every presidential election, despite the island's having no official say in the election. Since the 1990s, membership of the Chinese Politburo has been determined through deliberations and straw polls by incumbent and retired members of both

1300-399: The Republican presidential candidates—including Jeb Bush , Lindsey Graham , Mike Huckabee , and Marco Rubio —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,

1350-428: The campaign and assures that efforts are being focused effectively. In small local campaigns, the campaign manager will often be the only paid staff member and will be responsible for every aspect of the campaign that is not covered by the candidate or volunteers. In larger campaigns, such as a United States presidential campaign, hundreds of staff members will cover the required tasks. While campaign managers are often

1400-441: The campaign headquarters as to what is going on in the communities they work in. Field staffers are the primary liaison between the campaign and local influentials such as interest group leaders and prominent community activists. Field departments are also often primarily responsible for the local distribution of " swag " i.e. lawn signs , bumper stickers, buttons, and other such materials. The communications department oversees both

1450-729: The campaign is in compliance with the law and files the appropriate forms with government authorities. In Britain and other Commonwealth countries, such as Canada and India, each campaign must have an official agent , who is legally responsible for the campaign and is obligated to make sure the campaign follows all rules and regulations. This department will also be responsible for tracking all financial transactions, including bank reconciliations, loans and backup for in-kind donations. They are generally required to keep both paper and electronic files. Small campaigns will often have one person responsible for financial disclosure while larger campaigns will have dozens of lawyers and treasurers making sure that

1500-489: The campaign's fundraising operation and ensures that the campaign always has the money it needs to operate effectively. The techniques employed by this campaign vary based on the campaign's needs and size. Small campaigns often involve casual fundraising events and phone calls from the candidate to donors asking for money. Larger campaigns will include everything from high-priced sit-down dinners to e-mail messages to donors asking for money. The legal department makes sure that

1550-481: The campaign's activities are legal. After the election, the compliance and legal department must still respond to audit requests and, when required, debt retirement. The technology department designs and maintains campaign technology such as voter file , websites , and social media . While local (county, city, town, or village) campaigns might have volunteers who know how to use computers, state and national campaigns will have information technology professionals across

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1600-547: The campaign. These staff members often have deputies as well. In some campaigns, an executive chairman of the campaign committee will be appointed. The responsibility of an executive chairman will vary widely by campaign, usually an executive chairman is a consultant on internal matters such as campaign staff appointments and major internal policy. Below the department level, campaigns vary widely in their structure. On larger campaigns, there will be various coordinators for certain functions within each department. For example, within

1650-402: The consequence of full competition among all candidates. The poll was criticized for heavily favoring better-funded candidates, as better-funded candidates were able to afford transportation costs to bus in more supporters and to reimburse those supporters for meal tickets . In 2012, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad said "I think the straw poll has outlived its usefulness" and "It has been

1700-430: The data. Opinion polls may be improved by more closely mirroring the larger poll or election anticipated, such as in wording of questions and inclusion procedure. Honor-system polls may be improved by adding ordinary voting controls; for example, online polls may rely on established social-networking and identity providers for verification to minimize multiple voting. Campaign staffer Political campaign staff are

1750-469: The first Iowa Straw Poll, which had low voter turnout , as well as the caucus itself, but Ronald Reagan won the Republican nomination. Source of results: Iowa Republican Party Pat Robertson won the 1987 Iowa Straw Poll. Despite finishing second in the Iowa Straw Poll, Bob Dole won the Iowa Caucus . Despite finishing third in the Iowa Straw Poll, George H. W. Bush won the Republican nomination and

1800-409: The fundraising department, there might be a staff member who focuses only on direct mail fundraising. The foundation of the campaign structure are the interns and volunteers. Their tasks can include addressing envelopes, entering data into databases , and canvassing voters on behalf of the campaign. Larger statewide and national campaigns will have operations departments, which is responsible for

1850-401: The group of people who formulate and implement the strategy of a political campaign . Campaign staffs are generally composed both of unpaid volunteers and paid employees of either the campaign itself or a related political party . The staff may include political consultants who provide advice and assistance to a campaign. Campaigns are generally run by a campaign manager who coordinates

1900-461: The internal functions that power a campaign as an organization. While structure varies, the operations department will generally take on human resources and people operations responsibilities, including running payroll; IT and cybersecurity operations, which secure the campaign's electronic systems and ensure their availability for use; financial operations which will track the budget against actual spending and raising; and field operations, which handles

1950-536: The lead strategists in local campaigns, in the United States larger campaigns hire consultants to serve as strategists and the campaign manager focuses mostly on coordinating the campaign staff. Campaign managers will often have deputies who oversee various aspects of the campaign at a closer level. Directly below the campaign manager on the organization chart is the deputy campaign manager and directly below them are department directors who coordinate specific aspects of

2000-492: The logistics of a larger field program. On some campaigns, including smaller campaigns, these functions are sometimes outsourced to outside vendors to keep overhead low. The field department focuses on the "on-the-ground" organizing that is required in order to personally contact voters through canvassing, phone calls, and building local events. Voter contact helps construct and clean the campaign's voter file in order to help better target voter persuasion and identify which voters

2050-463: The presidency. Source of results: Iowa Republican Party 10,958 voters participated in the 1995 Iowa Straw Poll. Bob Dole and Phil Gramm won with a tie. Bob Dole won the Republican nomination. Sources of results: Iowa Republican Party , PBS A record 23,685 voters participated in the 1999 Iowa Straw Poll, held at the Hilton Coliseum. George W. Bush was cemented as the frontrunner by

Iowa Straw Poll (1979–2011) - Misplaced Pages Continue

2100-512: The presidential campaign on August 12, 2007, one day after finishing in sixth place in the Iowa Straw Poll. The 2011 Iowa Straw Poll was held on August 13, 2011, at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. Sources of results: Washington Examiner and National Journal Michelle Bachmann brought country superstar Randy Travis to the 2011 Ames Straw Poll and handed out flyers instructing voters that

2150-459: The press relations and advertising involved in promoting the campaign in the media. They are responsible for the campaign's message and image among the electorate. Press releases, advertisements, phone scripts, and other forms of communication must be approved by this department before they can be released to the public. The staffers within this office vary widely from campaign to campaign. However, they generally include: Researching and developing

2200-465: The results of the Iowa Straw Poll and eventually went on to win the Iowa caucuses; Steve Forbes , who had committed a fair amount of cash to winning the poll, was embarrassed by his second-place showing. Elizabeth Dole , 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). John McCain , who later emerged as Bush's only serious competition in

2250-409: The state or country handling everything from websites to blogs to databases . The scheduling and advance department makes sure that the candidate and campaign surrogates are effectively scheduled so as to maximize their influence on voters. This department also oversees the advance people who arrive at events before the candidate to make sure everything is in order. Often, this department will be

2300-584: 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. A similar poll (also at times referred to as the Iowa Straw Poll ) has been conducted at the Iowa State Fair since 2015. The poll took place among attendees of

2350-423: The straw poll went on to win the Iowa caucuses , although in 2011, Rick Santorum 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 . Thousands of people, including journalists , campaign staffers , and voters , arrived in town each election cycle around the time of the poll. The Iowa Straw Poll

2400-449: 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). 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 Iowa or a student attending an Iowa university or college, and purchase

2450-419: Was frequently seen as a first test of organizational strength in Iowa by the news media 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. Nevertheless, in the six times the poll was held, the winner of the Iowa Straw Poll went on to win

2500-517: 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." In its early years, the Iowa Straw Poll was criticized for having many voters who were not residents of Iowa . Candidates would bus in supporters from other states . However, beginning with

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