In 2007, Paul finished fifth at Ames, trailing Romney, Mike Huckabee, Sam Brownback, and Tom Tancredo. Publicly, his campaign is sending out the message that any placement better than fifth will be satisfactory. “Even though we got a late start compared to most of the other candidates (Bachmann, Pawlenty, et al., started gathering organization on the ground in Iowa long before they announced), if we finish somewhere in the top four, it would be a great improvement over 2007,” says campaign spokesman Gary Howard.
The Paul campaign has aggressively laid the groundwork for an impressive showing at Ames, including buying the priciest (and best) location by the arena where the straw poll is held for $31,000. In a fundraising letter last month, Paul wrote, “I’m counting on you to help me send shockwaves throughout the national political establishment with a strong finish at the Iowa Straw Poll.” His “Ready, Fire, Ames” appeal resonated: The campaign raked in $600,000. The Paul campaign is running TV ads, and Paul himself has been actively campaigning in Iowa.
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