Iowa straw poll in limbo

The Iowa Republican straw poll, traditionally a starting point for the presidential campaign, is in limbo, with state party officials weighing whether to modify or scrap it.

The event, last won by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), has been criticized for boosting hard-line conservatives, scaring away more business-oriented centrists and costing candidates large sums of money to participate in.

{mosads}It continues to have plenty of supporters within the state party, but Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) is among the skeptics and has called for the straw poll to be changed.

The state party will convene on Jan. 10 to make a final decision on whether to retain the straw poll in its current form, a one-day carnival-like event held in the summer in Ames. It could also break the event into four smaller regional events.

Local party officials are also waiting to find out whether the event complies with new Republican National Committee rules designed to shorten the primary season.

“Everybody agrees there should be an event,” Iowa Republican Party Chairman Jeff Kaufmann told The Des Moines Register.

“My hunch is that they will see this letter from the RNC, and if they get the assurance that we’re not breaking any rules, the majority of them want to have a straw poll with a vote,” Kaufmann said.

Branstad remains skeptical of continuing the event in the same form.

“I think you could have an event like that without actually taking a straw poll that could indeed attract all the candidates and give them an opportunity to be exposed to Iowa voters and have kind of a fun, summertime event,” Branstad said.

Kaufmann and the state central committee have the final say. While many of those members are close Branstad allies, he seems to be one of the few influential Iowa Republicans who wants major changes to the event.