Romney claims ‘overwhelming’ straw poll victory

As expected, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the only top-tier candidate participating in the Ames, Iowa, Republican straw poll, won the contest with 31.5 percent.

“Today, the people of Iowa took the first step towards bringing change to Washington,” Romney said Saturday night. “This important victory sends a signal to grassroots Republican activists across the country that we are working hard to earn their support, and that we are ready to begin the work of strengthening our economy, our military and our families.”

{mosads}Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, however, was perhaps the bigger winner, coming in second with 18.7 percent in an early, nonbinding contest that also serves as a fundraiser for the state party.

Huckabee and Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.) both needed strong finishes to keep their so-called second tier campaigns going. It seems that they have provided their campaigns with a boost by coming in second and third respectively.  

Brownback finished right behind Huckabee with 15.3 percent.  

Rep. Tom Tancredo (Colo.) finished fourth with 13.7 percent, perhaps not a surprising finish considering the big role the immigration debate played throughout the day’s speeches.

Internet insurgent candidate Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) finished fifth with 9.1 percent, and former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson finished sixth with 7.3 percent. Paul has said he will continue his quest for the White House regardless of Saturday’s outcome, but Thompson had said prior to the contest that he would quit his campaign if he would not finish in the top two.

Former Sen. Fred Thompson (Tenn.) and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, neither of whom participated but were on the ballot nonetheless, finished seventh and eighth respectively. Thompson, who has yet to declare as a candidate, edged out Giuliani by 20 votes, 203-183.

Thompson is scheduled next week to make his first visit to the state since forming a “testing the waters” committee. 

Rep. Duncan Hunter (Calif.) finished ninth, garnering only 1.2 percent, or 174 votes.

One-time front-runner Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), who also did not participate in the poll but was on the ballot, finished next to last with 100 votes.

McCain campaign manager Rick Davis appeared Saturday night to be trying to head off any early predictions that McCain might skip Iowa and focus on other early states as he did in 2000.

Davis said in a statement after the poll results were announced that McCain is still “fully committed to competing successfully in the Iowa caucuses, and we look forward to continuing to campaign aggressively in the Hawkeye State.”

The poll results were delayed by about an hour and a half because of problems with voting machines, according to reports.