Iowa Republican caucuses, 2008

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The 2008 Iowa Republican caucuses are an unofficial primary, with the delegates to the state convention selected proportionally via a straw poll. The Iowa caucuses mark the traditional formal start of the delegate selection process for the 2008 United States presidential election.

Prior to the 2008 caucuses, as in previous election cycles with a competitive presidential race, an unofficial Ames Straw Poll was held, on August 11, 2007. The official one, electing delegates to the state convention, was held on January 3, 2008, the same day as the Democratic contest. In the Ames Straw Poll, Mitt Romney finished first with 32% of the vote. In the January 2008 caucuses, Mike Huckabee finished first with 34% of the vote.

Contents

[edit] January 2008 procedure

Unlike the Democratic caucus, the Republican Party does not use voting rounds or have minimum requirements for a percent of votes. The Republican version is done with a straw vote of those attending the caucus. This vote is sometimes done by a show of hands or by dividing themselves into groups according to candidate. However, officially it is done with voters receiving a blank piece of paper with no names on it, and the voter writing a name and placing it in a ballot box.[1]

Following the straw poll, delegates are then elected from the remaining participants in the room, as most voters leave once their vote is cast. All delegates are officially considered unbound, [2] but media outlets either apportion delegates proportionally[3] or apportion them in terms of winner-take-all by counties.[4] In precincts that elect only one delegate, the delegate is chosen by majority vote and the vote must be by paper ballot.[5] The state party strongly urges that delegates reflect the results of the preference poll, but there is no obligation that they do so.

[edit] The Ames Straw Poll

Main article: Ames Straw Poll

The 2007 Ames straw poll was held at Iowa State University (Ames)'s Hilton Coliseum on August 11, 2007.[6] This was primarily a fundraising event for the state's Republican Party, and only Iowa residents who paid the $35 price for a ticket were eligible to vote. Tickets were available through the various presidential campaigns and the Iowa Republican Party's headquarters.

In general, the candidates bought large blocks of tickets and gave them out for free to whomever agreed to go and vote for that candidate. The candidates also rented buses to transport voters to Ames.

Mitt Romney finished first with 32% of the vote, followed by Mike Huckabee (18%), Sam Brownback (15%), Tom Tancredo (14%), and Ron Paul (10%). Six other candidates shared the remaining 14% of the vote.

[edit] Results of the January 2008 caucuses

2008 Iowa Republican Caucus county Map     Mike Huckabee      Mitt Romney      Ron Paul
2008 Iowa Republican Caucus county Map     Mike Huckabee      Mitt Romney      Ron Paul

As of 11:05 p.m. EDT, January 4, 2008, with 100% of the votes reported, the results were:

100% of precincts reporting[7]
Candidate Votes[7] Percentage Delegates
Mike Huckabee 40,954 34.36% 17
Mitt Romney 30,021 25.19% 12
Fred Thompson 15,960 13.39% 0
John McCain 15,536 13.03% 3
Ron Paul 11,841 9.93% 2
Rudy Giuliani 4,099 3.44% 0
Duncan Hunter 506 0.42% 0
Alan Keyes 247 0.21% 0
John Cox* 10 .01% 0
Hugh Cort 5 0% 0
Tom Tancredo* 5 0% 0
Vern Wuensche 2 0% 0
Sam Brownback 1 0% 0
Cap Fendig 1 0% 0
Total 119,188 100% 34

*Candidate had already dropped out of the race prior to caucus.


Only three candidates won majorities in the individual counties: Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, and Ron Paul. The Giuliani campaign followed an unusual strategy of focusing on larger states that vote later in the process, and had done little if any campaigning in Iowa. Tancredo had already withdrawn from the presidential race two weeks earlier and endorsed Romney,[8] but his name remained in the official list of candidates of the Iowa Republican Party.

Some 120,000 Iowa Republicans attended the 2008 caucuses, a new record. About 87,000 attended in 2000; in 2004, George W. Bush ran unopposed.[9]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ One Republican Caucus Is Found to Be an Uncomplicated Affair - New York Times
  2. ^ Republican Party of IOWA | Caucuses
  3. ^ Election Center 2008: Primary Results - Elections & Politics news from CNN.com
  4. ^ ABC News: Primary Results By State
  5. ^ Iowa Caucus 2008
  6. ^ Ames Straw Poll date set from OvalOffice2008.com.
  7. ^ a b Election Center 2008: Primary Results for Iowa. CNNPolitics.com. Cable News Network (2008-01-04). Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
  8. ^ Tancredo drops out, endorses Romney USA Today Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  9. ^ Woodward, Whitney. "Democrat turnout outnumbers GOP by 2-1", Quad-City Times, 2008-01-04. Retrieved on 2008-01-04. 

[edit] External links

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