Iowa GOP leaders tight-lipped about future of straw poll

DES MOINES — Members of the Republican Party of Iowa leadership have many questions about the 2015 GOP Straw Poll, but say they don't expect making a decision to pull the plug on the 36-year-old event to be on the agenda Friday.

The Aug. 8 straw poll will be discussed during a telephonic meeting, 'but nothing tells me this is life or death, that we have to make that decision Friday,' 1st District GOP Central Committee member Loras Schulte of Benton County said Wednesday.

'My understanding is that this is an informational meeting,' added Trudy Caviness of Ottumwa, a 2nd District member to the state GOP governing body.

'I don't expect that,' she said when asked if Central Committee members would be asked to vote on ending the non-binding straw poll. 'I haven't seen an agenda to that effect.'

Like most Central Committee members contacted, David Chung of Cedar Rapids was tight-lipped about any decision on the future of the straw poll.

'I'm not ready to comment,' the 1st District member of the committee said, adding that he's been a supporter of the straw poll.

The higher priority, according to one of those who will be a part of the discussion, is preserving Iowa's first-in-the-nation precinct caucuses.

That's because the straw poll has been a source of irritation to many state Republican parties across the country. They complain Iowa gets 'two bites of the apple' with the straw poll and the first-in-the-nation caucuses.

The concern among Iowa Republicans is that GOP contenders like Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and Mike Huckabee don't plan to participate in the daylong political festival being held near Boone this year. Others have suggested they won't be putting as much effort — or money — into their participation as in previous years.

Still others, including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who leads in Iowa polls, haven't said if they will participate.

'The most important things are giving people an opportunity to attend and the number of candidates who will be there,' Caviness said. 'It's important to have as many candidates there as possible.'

State Rep. Jarad Klein of Keota, also a 2nd District member of the Central Committee, acknowledged the concerns, but said the committee would be talking about the straw poll if the number of candidates wasn't an issue.

'In my opinion, we would be having this discussion regardless of who's participating,' he said. Committee members want information about the logistics of the event, such as plans for inclement weather.

Still, no one contacted by The Gazette Wednesday ruled out a decision on the fate of the straw poll. However, they said the decision may not be whether to cancel it, but how to structure it appropriately for the number of candidates and the costs of producing a large, multicandidate event.