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Huckabee is latest straw poll no-show; is event in jeopardy?

FILE - In this May 15, 2015 file photo, Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee speaks in Scottsdale, Ariz. Huckabee says he won't participate in the Iowa Straw Poll, where he competed and placed second eight years ago. In an opinion piece published Thursday in The Des Moines Register, Huckabee said his resources are better spent on other efforts. He argued that the straw poll is likely to draw only conservative candidates and that the competition could weaken them. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File) FILE - In this May 15, 2015 file photo, Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee speaks in Scottsdale, Ariz. Huckabee says he won't participate in the Iowa Straw Poll, where he competed and placed second eight years ago. In an opinion piece published Thursday in The Des Moines Register, Huckabee said his resources are better spent on other efforts. He argued that the straw poll is likely to draw only conservative candidates and that the competition could weaken them. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

By Associated Press May 21, 2015 1 min read

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The people running Iowa’s Republican presidential straw poll want less money and glitz involved as they try to take this summer’s event back to basics. But now they are facing a different kind of downsizing – fewer candidates.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is the latest 2016 prospect to opt out of the Iowa tradition. He said Thursday he won’t participate in the poll that he placed second in eight years ago.

That was the latest bad news for the carnival-like summer event that draws thousands of party activists. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush also plans to skip the poll.

State GOP officials have fought to keep the Aug. 8 event alive after criticism that it has ballooned into a costly sideshow. But so far, few have committed.