The number of Republican presidential hopefuls seeking involvement in the Iowa Straw Poll continues to dwindle. After former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani announced his decision Wednesday to not attend the Aug. 11 straw poll, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), and former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore bowed out of the event as well. Other GOP candidates are weighing their options too.

Russ Cross, chairman of the Story County Republican Party, said he believes financial issues are one of the leading causes for bowing out.

“The difference between campaigns in the past and campaigns now is that the candidates assume they need a pot of [$]100-plus million to compete up until the primaries,” he said. “Campaigners are likely to think ‘Where am I going to perform best?’ and ‘Where will my message sell the best?’ Each campaign has to have a political strategy and a budget.”

Cross said not attending the straw poll will probably not harm the campaigns of presidential hopefuls, as long as they still get their message out across Iowa in an effective way.

Tim Miller, a McCain spokesman, said although McCain will not be in attendance on Aug. 11, he has certainly put a lot of effort into campaigning to the Iowa residents.

Miller said McCain has been rigorously campaigning and speaking at numerous town hall events. Miller added that McCain has visited 23 different town halls across Iowa thus far and has developed a very strong grassroots organization in Iowa. He continues to gain support here by making more hand-to-hand acquaintances.

“McCain has been in the top three for Republican candidates so far in the polls. He is doing well in Iowa,” he said.

The Giuliani campaign could not be reached.

Don McDowell, chairman of ISU College Republicans and senior in political science, said he thought the decisions from the three candidates to not attend was extremely unfortunate.

McDowell said those attending will have a chance to showcase their political quests and have the chance to step back and really examine where their campaigns are headed.

Candidates still planning to attend the straw poll include former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.

McDowell said he does think that the straw poll is an important campaigning event for the Republican Party.

He compared this political process to the progression of a play, stating that the first act includes “now” up to the straw poll, with the straw poll being the intermission and the second act being the race to the finish for competitive campaigners.

“Not all actors can be involved in the second act, just as not all campaigners can be involved in the race to the end,” he said. “The straw poll can either make or break a campaign.”

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