The Republican and the Democrat National Committees are both taking stands to try to control their statewide committees that are currently trying to leap-frog each other in the nomination process. In return, several states are taking legal action in order to keep their delegates to the National Conventions.

The condensing of the state primaries does nothing but hurt the candidates with less in the bank. This is very detrimental to the American political process. It is already hard enough for an average American to run for the Office of the President and to place another impediment in their path will only solidify the Presidency as an office of the rich and increase the disconnect with the American people. Allowing a couple small states like Iowa and New Hampshire to go first allows the candidates with fewer resources a chance to gain momentum on a national stage that would not be possible if large states like Florida or Michigan jockey their way to the front. Also, the current system allows the candidates to be tested by a few small states with very different electorates that when together offer a great representation of the American people.

Breaking news: An announcement from the Brownback campaign is expected tomorrow stating that he is leaving the 2008 GOP race.

AP Report

I expect a Brownback endorsement of either John McCain or Mike Huckabee, which could give a much needed boost to either campaign. Much of the evangelical vote appears to be spread among the three campaigns and many Brownback supporters are likely to jump to one of the two.

Rudy Giuiliani is the only Republican with an office east of Des Moines and the only candidate to stump in the college-town Democratic stronghold of Iowa City and it looks to be paying off. Rudy was well received by a ballroom full of cheering students; and on a night when the wet and stormy weather likely kept many away. With the exception of the Obama visit last spring, Rudy's event tonight was one of the largest and most energetic in this part of the state. On a side note, a small but aggressive band of Ron Paul supporters was ready to confront all the attendees (just like they have been at every other event in the area in recent months). I find the tactics ironic considering the word LOVE is very prominent in many of their campaign signs.

In other news, a new Rasmussen poll of likely Iowa Caucus-goers shows Governor Romney slipping slightly to 25% followed by Thompon and Huckabee in a statistical tie at 19 and 18% respectively. In the final tier of candidates is Rudy Giuiliani at 13% and everyone else in single digits. It is somewhat surprising when one considers the millions of dollars that the Romney campaign has spent on ads in the state of Iowa that the Governor has not seen an increase in support.

In the latest jockeying of the nation's primaries, the Iowa GOP has elected to move the Iowa Caucus to January 3 in an effort to keep Iowa's importance as the first to vote. The Iowa Democratic Party is likely to follow suit. This will ensure that the candidates continue to ramp up their attention to Iowa in the coming months. Many candidates on both sides of the aisle have been active in Iowa this month: Fred Thompson, Rudy Guiliani, Mike Huckabee, Sam Brownback, John Edwards, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama have been grabbing the most headlines in the eastern part of the state.

Contact: Mary Tiffany For Immediate Release
(515) 282-8105 October 16, 2007

Republican Party of Iowa
Announces Caucus Date

Earlier tonight, the Republican Party of Iowa's State Central Committee voted to hold its first-in-the-nation caucus on the evening of January 3, 2008.

"With under 80 days to go, this is a huge help to our counties and county chairs to get the ball rolling and start organizing. They have 1,784 precinct caucus meetings to run, thousands of volunteers to recruit and our presidential candidates deserve a set date," said Executive Director Chuck Laudner. "This is a definitive year for Iowa, and it is crucial that RPI, the State Central Committee and our county organizations run a smooth, successful caucus."

The Republican Party of Iowa will continue to communicate and work with the Iowa Democratic Party over the coming months to plan the Iowa Caucuses and ensure we maintain our first-in-the-nation status.

While Brownback's latest attacks on his rivals are a little more veiled and a lot more tasteful than of late, I still wonder whether they will gain him any traction. I count myself as one of many conservatives that was turned off by the negative campaigning in recent weeks. The Senator has been addressing a lot of time to foreign policy this week, which is also a relief from the one trick dog and pony show he has been running around the abortion issue.

It will be interesting to watch as the Senator continues to react to the Iowa Straw Poll. While not exactly a death blow to his campaign, it was surely a disappointment and Brownback seems to have lost his spot as the social conservative front runner.

That seems to be everyone's question after Governor Huckabee's grass roots success in Iowa last weekend. Only time will tell, but articles are appearing all over the internet on this topic and Huckabee has addressed the topic extensively. Here is an article from MSNBC.

Huckabee's efforts in Iowa seem to have paid off as more people across the country, including the mainstream media, take a closer look at his campaign. The Huckabee campaign has been reporting a boost in donations and I have a feeling the longer that Fred Thompson stays on the sidelines, the more people will continue to turn to Governor Huckabee.

While Huckabee continues to lag in New Hampshire, he recently picked up a major endorsement in Virginia.

As I come across interesting articles on the Iowa Straw Poll, I will link them.

1) Cedar Rapids Gazette - "Best quotes"
2) The Daily Iowan - "Huck of a day at the straw poll"
3) Captain's Quarters Blog - "Ames poll produces winner -- and it may not be Romney"

As expected, Mitt Romney has emerged victorious in Ames. After millions of dollars spent, I don't think this will be a huge boost to his campaign. The true story lies in the results of the remaining candidates. I expect to see at least a couple leave the race in the near future; most likely starting with Governor Tommy Thompson. I think the days largest victory was won by Mike Huckabee. He finished a strong second with a true grassroots campaign. Romney and Brownback both provided transportation, etc to get people to Ames in order to vote. According to the Ames Tribune, while addressing supporters Huckabee quipped, "I can't buy you. I don't have the money. I can't even rent you." I have felt for weeks that Huckabee was really starting to resonate with Iowans and today's results from Ames confirm that. Now it will just be interesting to see if this jumpstarts some much need fundraising in order for him to compete on a national level. Only time will tell.

Here are some articles about the day from local newspapers:
1) The Des Moines Register
2) The Daily Iowan
3) The Ames Tribune

Votes Percent
1. Mitt Romey 4,156 31.5 percent
2. Mike Huckabee 2,587 18.1 percent
3. Sam Brownback 2,192 15.3 percent
4. Tom Tancredo 1,961 13.7 percent
5. Ron Paul 1,305 9.1 percent
6. Tommy Thompson 1,039 7.3 percent
7. Fred Thompson 203 1.4 percent
8. Rudy Giuliani 183 1.3 percent
9. Duncan Hunter 174 1.2 percent
10. John McCain 101 1.0 percent
11. John Cox 41 0.1 percent

I told everyone to stay tuned as the Iowa Straw Poll neared and now I can say, "I told you so." As things really start to heat up, it seems like Brownback has shifted some of his fire from Mitt Romney to Mike Huckabee. This exchange is much more interesting and even more humorous than the Michael Moore row. As the primary contributor for Brownback and Huckabee, I was very intrigued to run across the various articles on this spat. It'll be fun to see what the next few days before the Straw Poll bring.

The latest in the recent war of words among the candidates now is branching out to Michael Moore. In a comment that highlights his trademark sense of humor, the Governor made the statement that the man who criticizes the US health care system so much is a prime example of why health care in this country costs so much. It's a semi-interesting exchange that I find mildly humorous.

On an unrelated note, here is another article about the state of the campaigns in Iowa.