As predicted here some time ago Mitt Romney won a decisive victory in the Iowa straw poll on Saturday. Romney took some late heat for all of the spending he has done, (according to some estimates over $800 per vote) but the outcome vaults him into the top tier of Republicans vying for the nomination. Romney has really run a strong campaign in Iowa, and it is reflected in his standing for the caucuses. The Washington Post reports
The former governor leads in all recent scientific polls of the state, including a Washington Post-ABC News poll in late July. When Iowa Republicans were asked which candidate had worked hardest in their state, Romney, at 49 percent, was their overwhelming choice.
With Guiliani and McCain not participating Romney was denied a chance to defeat his main rivals Saturday, but their absence has been widely attributed to the imminent Romney victory. And ignoring the straw poll does run some political risk for the Rudy and McCain. A Tommy Thompson voter put it this way:Barb and Craig Damerval drove 2 1/2 hours from Winfield to Ames to support former Wisconsin governor Tommy G. Thompson. Craig Damerval, a corrections officer, said he was impressed by Thompson’s visits to “every one” of Iowa’s 99 counties. “I think that’s super,” he said.
Why, Damerval asked Saturday, would he and his wife support someone “if they don’t come and show their interest in Iowa?”
Tommy Thompson has dropped out of the race based on his sixth place finish here, and former governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee finished second.
Read the Post article here.
Bill Manzi.com 