The head of the conservative evangelical group Family Leader, Bob Vander Plaats, tells the Des Moines Register that if state GOP leaders get rid of the straw poll, his organization will attempt to fill the gap (including, apparently, holding its own straw poll).

“I’m not sure what the future of the straw poll is, but if the straw poll doesn’t take place, this event is going to be poised to be a magnet for candidates and for the base to really get a look at who they want to support in the caucus,” Vander Plaats said.

Former Iowa GOP executive director Chuck Laudner said the Family Leader conference could conduct its own straw poll.

“That’s certainly part of the plan, and even though that’s a long ways off, it’s worth thinking about,” Laudner told Radio Iowa. “The straw poll got trashed so much this last winter that there’s a lot of folks that think that there isn’t going to be one.”