- Iowa Caucuses « Republican Party of Iowa Press
Release
RELEASE: Straw
Poll Tickets Go On Sale
For IMMEDIATE RELEASEMay 8, 2015
Contact: Charlie Szold
DES MOINES - Tickets to the 2015 Straw Poll went on sale this morning, three months before the event's August 8th date.
Tickets will cost $30, the same price as the 2011 Straw Poll and $5 cheaper than the 2007 Straw Poll. Anyone who will not be 18 by Election Day 2016 (November 8) will be allowed in for free as a non-voting attendee.
The Iowa GOP is also offering a $5 discount on tickets bought before May 18, bringing the current price down to $25. Early-bird ticket purchases will also come with premium parking.
Tickets can be purchased at this link.
Yesterday the Iowa GOP announced dramatic changes to the Iowa Straw Poll.
“Simply put, it is time to relegate the pay-to-play nature of the Iowa Straw Poll to the dustbin of history. (We’ll leave the “pay to play” politics to the Clintons.) Here in Iowa, so long as a Republican candidate can afford the plane ticket to Iowa, they are welcome in Boone on August 8," Chairman Jeff Kaufmann wrote.
###
May 8, 2015 - Excerpt from "What's new
for the Iowa GOP"
You can read all about the changes
in this
Politico op-ed, but here are the
highlights:
1. We are doing away with the lot auction, which pitted candidates against each other in a bidding war for prime real estate. This cost candidates between $15,000 and $35,000 and led to allegations that our Straw Poll was “pay to play."
2. We are inviting more outside food vendors to the Straw Poll, so candidates don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on catering.
3. The lots are already electrified, so candidates don’t need to bring in expensive generators to power their set up.
All in all, we’ve made it so the only expense for a candidate is the plane ticket to Iowa. We think that’s a pretty good deal, and hope candidates take advantage of this opportunity to meet thousands of Caucus-going Iowans.
Finally, some good news for you too: We’ve worked hard to hold ticket prices at just $30. This is the same as 2011 and $5 cheaper than in 2007. Also, if you buy your ticket in the next week it will cost just $25. Anyone under 18 before November 8, 2016, gets in for free!
1. We are doing away with the lot auction, which pitted candidates against each other in a bidding war for prime real estate. This cost candidates between $15,000 and $35,000 and led to allegations that our Straw Poll was “pay to play."
2. We are inviting more outside food vendors to the Straw Poll, so candidates don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on catering.
3. The lots are already electrified, so candidates don’t need to bring in expensive generators to power their set up.
All in all, we’ve made it so the only expense for a candidate is the plane ticket to Iowa. We think that’s a pretty good deal, and hope candidates take advantage of this opportunity to meet thousands of Caucus-going Iowans.
Finally, some good news for you too: We’ve worked hard to hold ticket prices at just $30. This is the same as 2011 and $5 cheaper than in 2007. Also, if you buy your ticket in the next week it will cost just $25. Anyone under 18 before November 8, 2016, gets in for free!
Copyright © 2015 Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in
Action.
All rights reserved.