Why Boone for the Iowa Straw Poll?

The Iowa Straw Poll, long held in Ames, is moving to a new venue down the road.

Boone is the winning bidder, after a unanimous vote Thursday by GOP party board members.

Aug. 8 is the date for the carnival-like political gathering, which the Republican Party of Iowa hosts every four years during the summer before Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses. The aim is to raise money for the party and showcase presidential candidates. The event is famous for its music, food, speeches and mob of media. Campaigns try to lure in voters and beat expectations in the nonbinding poll.

The Central Iowa Expo in Boone will host the event, party officials said. It has been staged on Iowa State University's grounds since 1979, when George H.W. Bush won it with 36 percent of 1,454 votes cast. But the party's state central committee asked for bids this year when members weren't able, at first, to negotiate a rental price at ISU that they thought was fair.

Four places competed: the Central Iowa Expo, where U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst's Roast and Ride fundraiser is set to take place in June; the Iowa Speedway in Newton; Drake University in Des Moines; and the ISU campus.

ISU charged the GOP about $300,000 in 2011, Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann told The Des Moines Register on Thursday. All four bids were lower than that this year, Kaufmann said. Boone, which is no more than three hours from anywhere in the state, was "in the lower tier," he said.

"Why Boone? Because Boone could be any rural community in this state," Kaufmann said. "You can see farmers in their fields."

It's a bucolic place, flanked by corn and soybean fields, and it's flat, which will make it easier for seniors and disabled Iowans to navigate, he said. Organizers intend to find transportation between a vast parking area and a main tent that will accommodate 5,000 to 7,000 people. Smaller existing buildings will house medical staff, the voting area and the press, he said.

Prices for the tickets and for the participation fees that will be charged to candidates have not yet been set, but they could be the same or lower than last time, Kaufmann said.

In 2011, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas snagged the priciest spot on the ISU campus, bidding $31,000 at an auction. All told, six campaigns paid fees to participate. Tickets to attend were $25.

Campaigns shelled out tens of thousands of dollars for other expenses, too. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty spent nearly $27,000 on Famous Dave's barbecue to feed the crowd before finishing third and leaving the race the next day. U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota spent more than $40,000 renting buses to transport supporters to the event — plus $7,000 on golf carts to shuttle folks around the grounds.

In January, Iowa GOP officials voted to keep alive the controversial event despite heaps of criticism, including that it tarnishes the reputation of Iowa's premier presidential vote, the caucuses, and that it prematurely winnows the field before rank-and-file voters have a chance to participate. But with at least 17 Republicans testing the presidential waters in Iowa, others have argued that it wouldn't hurt to narrow the 2016 field a bit.

The Iowa Democrats don't hold a straw poll. The caucuses, when both Democrats and Republicans lead the nation in picking a presidential favorite, are scheduled for Feb. 1.

Two years ago, the Iowa Straw Poll finally seemed doomed, as criticism seemed to reach fatal levels. Republican Gov. Terry Branstad declared in late November 2012: "I think the straw poll has outlived its usefulness."

Its fate shifted after a groundswell of GOP cheerleading, including from U.S. Rep. Steve King and various party activists. Republicans familiar with how hard it is to raise money for the party pointed out that it has grossed more than $1 million each time since 1999.

There was resistance in some quarters to the prospect that a religious conservative-oriented event could fill the void in August if there were no straw poll. And although the event has become easy to skip for the front-runners — the last two eventual GOP nominees chose not to participate in the cycle in which they were nominated — it's a way for lower-tier candidates to snag some attention.

Bachmann won the 2011 straw poll with 29 percent of the 16,892 votes cast, but her campaign deflated soon after — a result often cited by critics who question the straw poll's usefulness. But party officials Thursday pointed out that other past winners included eventual president George W. Bush and party nominee Mitt Romney.

Asked about the possibility that 2016 front-runners might opt to avoid the straw poll, Kaufmann said: "I've got a lot of faith they're going to want to meet 20,000 strong-willed, active Republicans."

And in a news release Thursday, Branstad conveyed the message that he's very much on board now. "As a former resident of Boone, I couldn't be happier with the central committee's selection. Making this event more accessible to every Iowan is an important step in keeping the straw poll a must-attend date on the presidential election calendar," he said.