Huckabee skipping Iowa Straw Poll
The winner of the 2008 Iowa Republican Caucuses, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, will be skipping the upcoming Iowa Straw Poll in August, reports CNN:
Former Iowa caucuses winner Mike Huckabee to skip straw poll
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, the 2008 Iowa caucuses winner, is running again for the GOP presidential nomination, but this time he'll skip the state's high profile straw poll.
Huckabee, who took second place in the 2007 survey, announced Thursday morning in a Des Moines Register op-ed that he won't compete on the Iowa straw poll, instead saying that he wants to focus his resources on winning the state's official caucus.
"I appreciate the Iowa GOP for recognizing the need for some reforms, but playing to win in the straw poll still requires a heavy concentration of staff and financial resources," Huckabee wrote. "After consulting with many of our Iowa volunteers and supporters, as well as key activists whose opinion we value, I have decided to forgo taking part in the Iowa straw poll — or any other straw poll."
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a leading establishment contender, has also decided to skip the straw poll...
It will be easy for this move to be overanalyzed by pundits as to what it means for Huckabee and for other candidates, but it should be clear that without Huckabee and Bush, the Iowa Straw Poll will be a much diminished event this time around. The full story is available here.