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John McCain’s Campaign Manager Terry Nelson has just issued the following statement saying that McCain will also skip the Ames straw poll. Earlier today, it was announced that Rudy Giuliani would not be attending the event.
“John McCain has built a solid grassroots organization in Iowa and intends to win the state’s caucuses. He appreciates the unique and critical role the caucuses play in the nomination process and enjoys traveling the state, meeting Iowans, and holding town hall meetings.
“In light of today’s news, it is clear that the Ames Straw Poll will not be a meaningful test of the leading candidates’ organizational abilities, so we have decided to forego our participation in the event.”
While McCain won’t take as much of an overall hit as Giuliani, this is still a terrible move. McCain is leading all of the early primary and caucus states, but not showing up to Ames may deal a heavy blow to his Iowa primary numbers. Unless all of the other GOP candidates follow suit and bail on Ames, look for this to hurt McCain and Giuliani in Iowa.
The difference though, is that McCain doesn’t need Iowa to win the Republican nomination, but Giuliani does.
Plus, the Ames straw poll is basically a carnival for political junkies and a whole lot of fun… why would anyone want to miss out on that?
Your right that McCain wont suffer as much but I think it will hurt more than you say. Mike Huckabee should be in Ames and hopefully be in the top tier by then. Also hopefully, Gilmore, Paul, Cox, Tommy T., and Tancrado will be out by then.
It will be Fred, Rudy, McCain, Huckabee, Romney Hunter and Brownback by the time of the Iowa straw poll and probably only Huckabee Brownback, and Hunter will be there. That means huge moment for Mike Huckabee who is at the top of those three and he coiuld upset the field and win Iowa!
McCain will also miss Ames straw poll…
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Hunter will win the Ames Straw Poll. He did well in a recent straw poll there. Huckabee (outside of Arkansas) is a joke. As well as he’s done in the debates with his evangelist base, he’s an open borders guy and does not “connect” with non-evangelical voters, IE most of us.
Hunter’s biggest problem, and one he is starting to shed, is his ties to Bush. Bush is poison to any candidate now, which is why Romney (who Jeb Bush and, it was rumored, GW supported) hasn’t “broken out”. If Hunter can break with the GOP power brokers and his president, he will do well. But time is running out.