The Republican Party of Iowa announced Thursday that the 2015 straw poll will be moving about 20 miles down the road from Ames, Iowa, to Boone.
The state central committee unanimously supported the decision to hold the quadrennial event at the Central Iowa Expo in Boone on Aug. 8.
“Iowa’s agricultural background has always captured the national imagination, and we feel the Central Iowa Expo will help us showcase this heritage,” Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said in a press release. “This venue also allows us to keep ticket prices affordable, ensuring families from across Iowa can participate in this one-of-a-kind event.”
The announcement ends speculation about the future of the straw poll, which has long been held in nearby Ames, and been criticized for being an unreliable predictor of who will ultimately win the GOP presidential nomination.
In 2011, then-Rep. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota won the straw poll, but went on to finish in sixth place in the Iowa caucuses, delivering a deadly blow to her presidential aspirations.
Four years earlier, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney came out on top, and finished as the runner-up to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in the 2008 caucuses.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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