Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain and former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer will have just 10 minutes each to make an impression on the crowd of several hundred expected to gather for the event in Waukee, just west of Des Moines…

“If you stumble, it could very well be the end. It’s that big,” Laudner said. “When they’re standing on the same stage and one of them doesn’t measure up, they’re probably not going to rebound to win support later on. So the one that wins the day takes a huge step forward. If there’s 500 people in the room, and 250 say, ‘Yeah, I can support that guy,’ you’re one step forward to winning the Iowa caucuses.”…

“One of these five won’t be in the race by the straw poll and another of them won’t be in the race after the straw poll,” Laudner said, referring to the August poll in Ames that will offer a critical barometer of the race. “And so Monday night is the beginning of the winnowing process because you can’t split the social conservative vote 10 ways.”