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Giuliani to Skip Iowa Straw Poll LIZ SIDOTI Republican presidential contenders Rudy Giuliani and John McCain said Wednesday they won't compete in a high-profile Iowa straw poll, clearing the way for top rival Mitt Romney but also diluting the importance of the traditional early test of strength. Both Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, and McCain, an Arizona senator, said they would still compete in the state's caucuses, the lead-off contest in the road to the GOP presidential nomination. "We are 100 percent committed to winning the Iowa caucuses in January," said Mike DuHaime, Giuliani's campaign manager, even as he announced the decision to skip the Aug. 11 straw poll in Ames, Iowa.
Hours later, Terry Nelson, McCain's campaign manager, told The Associated Press that in light of Giuliani's announcement "it's clear that the Ames straw poll will not be a meaningful test of the leading candidates' organizational abilities." Thus, he said: "We have decided to forgo our participation in the event." That leaves Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, as the only top-tier GOP candidate to commit to the nonbinding straw poll. It's a decades-old dress rehearsal that allows GOP candidates to measure their organizational strength months before the caucuses, a one-day presidential contest that requires a strong get-out-the-vote operation to ensure backers participate. Fred Thompson, the former Tennessee senator and actor faring well in surveys, also has suggested he may launch an unconventional candidacy that would eschew traditions like the straw poll.
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