Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) has announced that he will attend a Republican primary event sponsored by conservative website RedState rather than this year's Iowa straw poll.
The influential poll, sponsored by the state party, allows Iowa Republicans to express support for GOP presidential candidates before the actual caucuses take place. But as of late, the straw poll "has been bashed as having outsized importance," the Des Moines Register explains, and the Iowa GOP has encouraged candidates to attend the event by offering free tent space and other incentives.
Bush follows in the lead of 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who didn't attend the 2011 Iowa straw poll. He doesn't follow, however, in the footsteps of his family members — his father won the straw poll in 1979, and his brother won the straw poll in 1999.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Carly Fiorina, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will also attend the RedState Gathering in August.
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
