Words from the Pundits on Iowa Straw Poll Result (Updated)

Toby Harnden, Daily Telegraph: Mitt Romney won handsomely with 31.5% of the vote. But Huckabee’s 18.1% showing has the potential to lift him into the top tier of Republican candidates. It was especially impressive because of his shoestring straw poll operation compared to the mega outlay by Romney. And in politics, exceeding expectations is often everything. “We over-performed,” Huckabee said to a throng of reporters, many of whom (including me) had been heading out to hear Romney’s victory speech when we thought better of it and decided to listen instead to what the ex-governor had to say. “If you look at those above us and below us there were a lot who under-performed,” he said. “If you think about how little money we had, how little we spent to get here it says more than being in second place.” He added: “Nobody’s getting the miles per gallon out of a campaign that we are.”

Byron York, National Review: When it was all over, there was no doubt that the winner of the day was Huckabee. “It is beyond huge,” Huckabee told reporters. “Tonight, for all practical purposes, we won the Iowa straw poll. No one was even saying we would come in second…You gotta admit, for what we had to work with, the resources we had, for us to surge, coming in second, is the victory, it is the story.”

Ed Morrissey, Captain's Quarter's: However the real winner may be the man who spent nothing but time and effort in hopes of breaking out of the second tier.

Chris Cillizza, Washington Post: The biggest political event of the 2007 calendar year gave former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney a victory, but the biggest winner may well be former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who placed a surprising second.

Jonathan Martin, The Politico: While Romney’s 31.5 percent win had been widely forecast, the runner-up competition yielded a surprise: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee picked up 18.1 percent to finish in second.

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Tags: Iowa Straw Poll, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Politics To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!