Campaigns & Elections magazine reports that in 1999, the Ames Straw Poll netted approximately $1 million for the Iowa GOP. Now that Rudy Giuliani and John McCain have declined to participate in the upcoming Ames Straw Poll, there's concern that state level GOP candidates will be the real losers. Awww.

Proponents call Ames an early test of campaign support and organization, but the straw poll is first and foremost a fundraiser for the state Republican Party. And what a fundraiser it has been of late. Republican Party of Iowa (RPI) Executive Director Chuck Laudner says the 1999 event netted approximately $1 million.

The state GOP spent more than $200,000 of that money in each of the 2000, 2002 and 2004 election cycles, according to former state Republican Party chairman Chuck Larson. The money went almost exclusively for state legislative races. In a state with closely drawn partisan lines, that can mean a great deal.

"The parties are basically even in the state," said Jim Hutter, a political science professor at Iowa State University. "If you have a party with a million dollars [extra] they can spend over three election cycles, it’s a huge advantage," especially in close elections.

The whole event is set up something like a state fair, with campaigns paying a minimum of $15,000 each for tent space outside the event. Ticket prices this year will range from $25 to $35. Original projections were for 50,000 attendees, but have been scaled back considerably since the cancellations. However, the organizers are hopeful that Newt Gingrich and Neal Boortz will help bring out the crowds. Bleh.