It appears the winner of the 2007 Iowa Republican Party Straw Poll in Ames will not try for a repeat in 2011.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has decided not to compete in the the Iowa GOP’s Straw Poll in Ames this August. Romney follows in the footsteps of John McCain and Rudy Giuliani, both of whom skipped the event in 2007.
The Straw Poll is often a signal of how candidates may fare in the Iowa Caucuses. Candidates of the past like Elizabeth Dole and Lamar Alexander dropped out of the race soon after finishing in the back of the pack in the Straw Poll 12 years ago.