While Republicans Rudi Giuliani and John McCain are skipping the Iowa Straw Poll in August, three lesser-known presidential candidates says they’ll attend the event in Ames. Kansas Senator Sam Brownback, Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee all said today they’ll will be there.
Brownback told his staff of the decision today. "There are no coronations in America. The son of a Kansas farmer can still become President of the United States," Brownback says, "You don’t declare yourself winner before the game is played. The people of Iowa will determine who wins."
Brownback says others have tried to bypass Iowa in the past and it’s been a failed strategy. Brownback says this is a test of organization, and the decision by Giuliani and McCain to skip the straw poll shows that both are out of touch with the base of the Republican Party.
Brownback is also challenging former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney to an Iowa debate prior to the straw poll. Romney has said the decision of the others to not participate in the Ames event amounts to a victory for his campaign.