GOP Fails to Spin Gold From Straw Poll

Iowa's Republican Party Straw Poll took place on Saturday in Ames, Iowa. Several surprises shook up the race, and at the proverbial end of the day, two candidates wound up as big winners and two became big losers.

First, the winners. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee finished second and boosted his surging popularity. He garnered 33% more votes than tickets he paid for, outperforming all the other candidates. The big question for the former governor of Arkansas will be whether the fundraising can follow. His campaign has struggled to raise money, and the Straw Poll has taxed his limited funds even more. He has six weeks to the end of the third-quarter fundraising deadline. We will know soon if he's for real.

Rep. Ron Paul also shocked people in Iowa. He finished in fifth place and garnered more than 9% of vote in spite of only three trips to Iowa. His advertising was minimal, releasing just a few ads that came out last week. A supporter of Paul's emailed me on Friday saying he would be happy to see Paul get 3% of the vote. They blew away those numbers.

On the other end of the action, Tommy Thompson had announced prior to the Straw Poll that he would pull out of the race if he finished worse than second. His visits to all 99 counties in Iowa failed to succor more support than a sixth-place finish. He's done for 2008.

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