Ames Straw Poll: Fun, Firearms and Elvis

2008 GOP presidential candidates vie for votes giving away food and even a gun

ByABC News
August 9, 2007, 6:31 PM

Aug. 9, 2007 — -- Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., is bringing an 150-pound watermelon from his hometown.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., will have an Elvis impersonator handing out ice cream freshly made out of the back of his campaign RV.

Welcome to the only-in-Iowa political circus known as the Ames straw poll, where political fortunes are made and broken -- and everyone eats a little too much fried food and barbecue.

Former Gov. Tommy Thompson, R-Wis., is set to ride into Ames on a Harley -- with 150 of his closest friends. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is bringing along three bands -- and some 90 family members. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, is serving up snow cones, coffee and pastries. And Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., will have a country western singer serenading supporters with songs about the troops.

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., meanwhile, will have Famous Dave's barbecue on hand to distribute in his air-conditioned tent -- and is showcasing something of a "pro-life" all-star team: Terri Schiavo's brother, and Norma McCorvey -- "Roe" of Roe v. Wade -- who's now a prominent anti-abortion rights activist.

But behind the fair-like atmosphere, the straw poll is a deadly serious exercise. The GOP presidential field will almost certainly be smaller after the votes are counted in Ames -- and the balloting could solidify Romney's front-running status, or blow the race wide open.

Romney has been campaigning hard in Iowa. One of his five sons, Josh Romney, 31, is driving a motor home dubbed the Mitt Mobile across Iowa, making stops in all of Iowa's 99 counties before the poll.

"If Romney wins he's the undisputed champ," said Scott Reed, a GOP strategist who managed Bob Dole's 1996 campaign. "After this weekend, when Romney wins -- even if it's by 10 votes -- he's another step to being the candidate of the social conservatives."

"Romney has said he's making an effort to win it -- so if he doesn't do well, that's going to have a major negative impact on his campaign," said James McCormick, chairman of the political science department at Iowa State University.