Jeb Bush won't attend the Iowa straw poll

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.

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Carly Fiorina, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will also attend the RedState Gathering in August.