State Republican leaders recently decided to eliminate the Iowa Straw Poll event that had been held every year ahead of a presidential election cycle since 1979. That paved the way for local GOP groups to hold more local, less intensive straw-poll type events.
The Republican Party of Jasper County held a preliminary caucus on June 22 at Bridgehouse Coffee Shop to get a sense of who currently leads the presidential contest.
Coined “The Newton Poll” by the party’s leaders, the idea was announced before the party’s state leaders made the decision to cancel the Iowa Straw Poll. The Jasper GOP hosted representatives from nine candidates and potential candidates.
“As Iowans, we’re at the epicenter of this process, and it’s clear that our local party is focused on their role in helping pick our next president,” said Marshall Critchfield, chairman of the Jasper Republicans. “I’m so encouraged by the participation both from the campaigns and the voters.”
Critchfield said there were 41 eligible voters at the June 22 event, so there were 123 total votes cast. The 41 participants were given ballots with three lines, and asked to write down their top three choices. The only rule was that they could not write the same name more than once.
There were also visitors from other counties and about 10 staffers either representing the official campaigns or the organizations likely to become presidential campaigns.
The order of speaking commenced alphabetically by the last names of candidates, from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, and each representative took less than five minutes.
“There’s been a lot of talk about Walker in Iowa over the past year, so I am not terribly surprised with his success in this poll,” said Critchfield. “He’s a Midwesterner with ties to Iowa, and people are impressed with his track record. It’s important to remember that we’re a long way from the Feb. 1 Iowa Caucus, and things can change rather quickly.”
Newton resident Diane Birchard picked Walker as her first choice because of his record of fiscal responsibility and because she feels he has shown integrity in his time as governor of Wisconsin.
Walker is still in the exploratory phase of the campaign and is expected to announce his candidacy on July 13.