Ames Straw Poll is Cacelled

The Iowa republican Party unanimously killed off the iconic Ames Presidential Straw Poll on Friday June 12, 2015 by unanimous vote.

I always thought that the Ames Straw Poll poll was a fun event that added some levity and entertainment to the grim process of presidential selection. All the GOP activists I talked with at Joni Ernst's Roast and Ride, Marco Rubio's meet and greet and Christie's Education Reform event in Ames were sure it would be killed off. It could have and should have been "fixed" and continued they said.

(Screen shot of planned ticket sales for Straw Poll)

They also said that Iowa GOP chair Jeff Kaufman totally mismanaged this. Moving the AMES Straw poll to a bankrupt Expo site that Boone Co and US taxpayers (through USDA) will be bailing out was a big, dumb mistake. Ames is fun, the campus green and beautiful, there are hotels and restaurants and everyone loved the event. I heard this from many people including media folks.

One of them told me "Moving it was a knucklehead idea and it's inglorious ending then began to metastasize as candidates started fearing it. A real shame for an iconic American fun event." Another said that the " ... snarky national media and outside "comentarati" on the East Coast also trashed it and killed it."

One Rand Paul supporter (they were  in favor of the straw poll) said "Maybe next they'll end the State Fair because it's "outdated" and featured unhealthy foods like deep fried everything."
Ouch!