Talk:Iowa Straw Poll (1979–2011)

message: Can someone track down the exact dates of the 1979 and 1987 Ames Straw Polls and then add those dates, giving an appropriate citation, in the article? This information seems to be unfortunately lacking on the World Wide Web, but it should be readily available in newspaper archives. —Lowellian (reply) 07:44, 23 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Dates of 1979 and 1987 polls

message: In the section titled "Significance," the article makes some claims of general trends in the poll which I think are unfounded, given that the poll has only happened 4 times (soon to be 5). Ex: "in the history of the Ames Straw Poll, except in 1987, the winner (or in case of the tie in 1995, one of the winners) of the Ames Straw Poll has gone on to win the Iowa Caucus." 3 matches out of 4 (and one of those not even a clear victory) could very easily be chance. Perhaps, in reality, it only correctly predicts about 50% of the time, but due to chance we happened to get 3 out of 4 instead of 2 out of 4. There's really no way to know, and I think it's simply too early to draw out patterns, even after the upcoming poll (notwishstanding that it's a pastime of American politics to scrutinize every single datum to within an inch of its life).
Likewise with the first sentence of that same paragraph, "Only about half of the winners of the Ames Straw Poll have gone on to win the Republican presidential nomination." Well, right now it's 2 out of 4, which is exactly half. "About half," I feel, makes it sound like we've got a larger data set, with higher precision, than we do.
Just some thoughts.
Munion 19:07, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Sure, you make good points. Anyway, it's fixed now; the section has been rewritten to reflect the problems you wrote about. —Lowellian (reply) 02:53, 12 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Significance 

message: It is unclear how the actual voting takes place...
The article mentions the ones that already voted have their hands stamped, but how did they vote? By raising hands?
Wikiak 00:33, 11 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I've clarified that electronic voting machines are used. —Lowellian (reply) 02:56, 12 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Format 

message: Why is the title of this article "Ames Straw Poll" instead of "Iowa Straw Poll?" The Iowa Republican Party (who runs the poll), refers to it as the "Iowa Straw Poll" on their website, the logo for this year's poll also refers to it as the "Iowa Straw Poll,"  and pretty much every media story I've seen about it this year refers to it as the "Iowa Straw Poll." Yes, it does take place in Ames, but that is not the name that it seems to have been given. Etphonehome 22:15, 11 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree, when I came back from vacation today and wanted to see an update on this, the first thing I typed was Iowa Straw Poll, yet I had to see the search screen first :/. Homestarmy 22:40, 11 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: In order to avoid confusion with other Iowa Straw Polls; because, as detailed in in the introductory paragaph, there are actually multiple pre-Iowa Caucus straw polls held in different Iowa towns; this is just the most famous one of them. And what do you mean you had to see the search screen first? Iowa Straw Poll redirects here. Google currently shows 400,000 hits for "Iowa Straw Poll" and 204,000 hits for "Ames Straw Poll", so the frequency of the two terms is on the same order of magnitude. The problem with the phrase "Iowa straw poll" (and a reason to take the Google results with a bit of salt) is lack of specificity; that phrase could be referring to another Iowa Straw Poll besides the Ames Straw Poll. —Lowellian (reply) 02:51, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

text: To clarify, I think it's a historical thing. Before the polls in the 1990s, this poll was less important compared to the other straw polls in Iowa (also run by the Iowa Republican Party), and was known as the Ames Straw Poll. In the 1990s, this poll became gradually more important vis-à-vis the other Iowa straw polls, and came to be promoted and publicized as THE Iowa Straw Poll, rather than just any Iowa straw poll. —Lowellian (reply) 02:58, 12 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: As an Iowa resident, I've heard both names used - and the usage is roughly equal.  In this case the more precise term should be used for clarity's sake - with a redirect from the other common name, as is done with this article.  --Tim4christ17 talk 04:42, 15 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Article Title 

message: :Image:Straw poll logo.png is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.
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BetacommandBot 19:15, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Fair use rationale for Image:Straw poll logo.png

message: Partial results are at 
http://www.mikeswashingtonwatch.com/archives/2007/09/the_ames_straw_poll.shtml
Someone with semi-protected access can update the main page (I don't have access or the time to bother).77.20.56.60 (talk) 07:55, 13 August 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: Results of 1979

message: Has anyone heard the results of Colbert Super PAC's satirical push for "Rick Parry" with an A? SwimFellow (talk) 23:24, 13 August 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: SwimFellow - please refrain from chit-chat on talk pages as it is strictly against Wikipedia policy.  (I can hardly wait!  You can be damn sure that I'd of got my ass in to vote for ***RICK PARRY***   THE ONLY CANDIDATE THAT YOU CAN TRUST TO FOLLOW THROUGH WITH HIS CAMPAIGN PROMISES*** if I lived in Iowa.)</SMALL> Gandydancer (talk) 00:17, 14 August 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Disagree that this is chit-chat. Colbert's Super PAC's involvement is noteworthy and it would be informative to have a total for Rick Parry. I have been unable to find one 208.118.163.99 (talk) 16:29, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

text:  Gandydancer - please refrain from criticism of "chit-chat," then chit-chatting about the thing I was "chit-chatting." +There are news stories from valuable sources. This is notable, especially now that it's become a full-blown investigation. SwimFellow (talk) 06:39, 23 August 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: SwimFellow - It was supposed to be funny. Gandydancer (talk) 11:11, 23 August 2011 (UTC)

text: Fatuous in the extreme to suggest it doesn't matter. The fact the pollsters are not releasing the votes to public scrutiny is highly significant and may suggest that Colbert's television show had a very large influence on the voting, though perhaps not the outcome itself. If Perry/Parry had been first, what would that have said about the sincerity of the voters? This is not insignificant.68.144.172.8 (talk) 06:50, 19 August 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Rick Parry 

message: The total for the 2011 isn't the sum of all the above numbers. It is off by 56. I'm guessing this is votes that didn't get counted for whatever reason, but the total for all the other years is correct, so I'm wondering if you need to add in a box with "missing" or "uncounted" or whatever to make 2011 work too. Wikiditm (talk) 10:10, 15 August 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: This edit corrected the error by changing the "Scattering" count from 162 to 218.  The cited reference defines Scattering as Includes all those receiving votes at less than one-percent that were not on the ballot.  By that definition, it is possible that someone receiving write-in votes could have received more votes than Jon Huntsman and Thad McCotter, who were listed finishing 9th and 10th, and not been listed in the official results.  Jon Stewart reported that Gary Busey received 77 votes, more than Huntsman's 69, though he may have been joking.  Can anyone find independent verification of Busey's votes? 50.13.110.37 (talk) 05:51, 17 August 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: To my knowledge, the Iowa GOP hasn't released any details for the "scattering" vote - and it seems unlikely to me that they would release a detailed breakdown - or that any campaign would insist that they do so.  --Philosopher Let us reason together. 07:12, 17 August 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Well, actually the campaign for Rick Parry (Parry, with and A for America) have asked that the breakdown be revealed to the public. Gandydancer (talk) 19:17, 18 August 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Incorrect Total for 2011 Poll. 

message: In the sentence: "Since its founding, the winner of the Ames Straw Poll has gone on to win the Republican presidential nomination X out of five times." X should be three: George W. Bush, Bob Dole, George H. W. Bush.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Metzby (talk • contribs) 16:56, 17 August 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: George H.W. Bush won the 1979 Ames Straw Poll but lost the nomination to Reagan. In 1987, he won the nomination, but lost the straw poll. So no, it is correct the way it is. SOXROX (talk) 05:34, 18 August 2011 (UTC)
replies: text:  I think you're reading it wrong. George H.W. Bush was the winner of the Ames Straw Poll, and went on to win the Republican presidential nomination. You seem to be reading a phrase (in that election cycle) that doesn't appear in the text. Metzby (talk) 07:39, 18 August 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: No Pat Robertson won the poll in 1987. SOXROX (talk) 14:14, 18 August 2011 (UTC)
replies: text:  George H.W. Bush won the poll in 1979, and then got the nomination in 1988. Thus, he was the winner of the Ames Straw Poll. He went on to win the Republican presidential nomination. Thus, he meets the criteria. You seem to be reading in "in the same nomination cycle". But that's not what the sentence says. You can't expect the reader to know what you meant. Metzby (talk) 18:26, 18 August 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: The Straw Poll only has relevance to its particular election cycle, so reading "in the same nomination cycle" into the quote is actually the natural (and correct) reading of the sentence.  --Philosopher Let us reason together. 11:15, 24 August 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: I can see why you might think that. But... Citation Needed. Metzby (talk) 20:38, 4 September 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  ASP Winners who went on the win the nomination 

message: Michele Bachmann's win at the straw poll marked the first time a female candidate won the poll. Is this a fact that is worth a mention in the article? 68.43.93.38 (talk) 00:22, 22 August 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Michele Bachmann first woman to win the straw poll 

message: The Iowa Straw Poll was a specific Republican Party event that was last held in 2011.  There are a variety of other straw polls in Iowa, that is unrelated to the topic of this article. power~enwiki (π, ν) 19:34, 21 August 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: Created separate Iowa State Fair Straw Poll page; disambiguated; thx for prompt. Humanengr (talk) 14:40, 22 August 2019 (UTC)
replies: text:  Looks good to me. power~enwiki (π, ν) 15:24, 28 August 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  Straw Poll v. State Fair poll