Iowa straw poll survives a party vote

The Iowa straw poll has survived.

Despite calls for the Republican Party of Iowa to abandon this quirky tradition - which, opponents say, unfairly hurts some candidates and detracts from the state's first-in-the-nation caucuses a few months later - the group's central committee voted 16 to 0 on Saturday to begin planning a straw poll.

But the tradition could see some major changes. The only important details locked in thus far: The event is set for August and will be sponsored by the party. It's still unknown which day in August, where the poll will happen, what the rules will be and how much campaigns should plan to fork over to participate. The success of the event will depend heavily on which presidential hopefuls agree to take part.

Jeff Kaufmann, chairman of the state party, said in a statement that he looks forward to "a vibrant and mutually-beneficial event," which is a major fundraiser for the party.

"The Central Committee recognizes the straw poll fundraiser is not only an important organizing event for Iowa Republicans, but also provides the only opportunity during the Iowa Caucus process where candidates can speak to tens of thousands of voters in a single event," Kaufmann said.

Kaufmann was careful to call this the "Iowa Straw Poll," although it has also been called the "Ames Straw Poll," referring to the college town where the three-decades-old event is usually held.

The summer before competitive caucus contests, thousands of activists descend on Iowa State University for a day-long festival. Candidates pay the state party thousands of dollars for the best spots to set up tents, and then often spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on busing in Iowans from around the state, feeding them, entertaining them and handing them the $30 ticket required to place a vote.

The poll was once a rather accurate indicator of which candidates might do well in the statewide contests. Past winners include George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Bob Dole and Mitt Romney.

Criticism exploded after the 2011 poll, when now-retired Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann, a Republican, won - and then took last place in the January 2012 caucuses.

A prominent critic has been the state's longest-serving governor, Terry Branstad, a Republican, who has argued that the event "has outlived its usefulness" and is in dire need of reform. He also questioned whether the poll would violate new rules imposed by the Republican National Committee aimed at protecting the presidential primaries system.

On Thursday, RNC General Counsel John Ryder wrote in a legal opinion to the party that the fundraiser is "an unscientific poll that cannot be reliably used as a measure of candidate strength" - and, therefore, cannot be connected to the process of selecting a presidential nominee.

Now that the party is moving forward with the straw poll, Branstad has pledged his support. Jimmy Centers, a spokesman for the governor, said Saturday that Branstad looks forward to working with the state party to make the straw poll a "successful event."