The Ames Straw Poll is likely to continue due to strong support from within the Iowa Republican Party, the Des Moines Register reported late Monday. Though Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, among others, has called for its elimination, the Republican state central committee — which contains a strong contingency of Ron Paul fans — want the straw poll to live on.
If most current members are re-elected, it’s likely the straw poll, held on the Iowa State University campus in Ames, rolls on. Many of the committee’s staunchest straw poll defenders are Ron Paul followers who fight for non-establishment, grass-roots politics. …
Although none of the Republican state central committee members was willing to state a definitive decision Monday, nine of the 18 voting members said their initial preference is to preserve the straw poll, which has been an early part of the landscape of the presidential selection process since 1979. Republican Party of Iowa Chairman A.J. Spiker, who favors keeping the straw poll, would break a tie.
