Word: polle
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...anyone was surprised by Mitt Romney's victory in the straw poll in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday, they must not have paid much attention to the race for the 2008 G.O.P. presidential nomination up to this point. The former Massachusetts Governor has maintained a lead ahead of his Republican opponents in the Iowa polls since mid-May. For most of the past year, Romney has targeted his resources in Iowa in an effort to transform himself from a little-known Governor of a liberal northeastern state with dubious conservative credentials into a candidate who can appeal to the social conservatives...
...preparation for the straw poll, the Romney campaign shelled out an undisclosed amount that was still hundreds of thousands more than any other campaign spent. He was also, until recently, the only candidate to invest in television advertising throughout the state. And although he continues to lag behind former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Tennessee Senator and actor Fred Thompson, and Arizona Senator John McCain in national polls, the decision by all three of those leading candidates to skip the straw-poll left Romney unchallenged for the position of front-runner...
...total was higher than the number of tickets his campaign had purchased. That means either some of his supporters paid the $35 cost on their own instead of - as most voters do - obtaining their tickets through the campaign, or Huckabee won the support of voters who attended the straw-poll on other campaigns' dimes...
...While the straw poll outcome has no direct impact on the Iowa delegates who will attend next summer's 2008 Republican national convention, candidates have in the past used high placements to demonstrate strength and build momentum in advance of the Iowa caucuses in January, as well as to force weaker competitors to reassess and, often, drop out of the race...
Romney may be pleased and relieved by his first-place showing in Ames, but the game remains the same for now. In early September, Fred Thompson is expected to officially join the race, which will turn the focus onto his ability to build on his poll numbers and buzz. Huckabee will get a second look as a potential force in the race. Giuliani will likely join Romney for the first time with television advertising in the key early voting votes of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. McCain plans to make a big push to prove he can come back...