Mitt Romney Will Not Take Part in Florida Straw Poll

Former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, the front-runner for the Republican presidential notification in 2012, announced on Thursday that his campaign would not take part in straw polls being set up in Florida, Iowa and Michigan. Arguing that the event helped propel Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bob Dole to the partys nomination, the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) is hosting the Presidency 5 straw poll in Orlando in September.

Our campaign has made the decision to not participate in any straw polls, whether its in Florida, Iowa, Michigan, or someplace else, said Matt Rhoades, Romneys campaign manager. We respect the straw poll process.In the last presidential campaign we were both strengthened as an organization and learned some important lessons by participating in them.This time we will focus our energies and resources on winning primaries and caucuses. We look forward to bringing Mitt Romneys strong pro-jobs message to every part of the country.

One of Romneys most prominent backers in Florida supported the decision, despite his ties to the RPOF.

The campaigns decision to not participate in any straw polls makes strategic sense, insisted Sen. John Thrasher, R-Jacksonville, a former chair of the RPOF. Florida is an expensive state to campaign in. As a candidate that has already proven his organizational strength and support in Florida, its smart for him to focus his time and resources on winning the actual primary.I know firsthand from Mitt that he is committed to campaigning in Florida throughout the primary process and am very happy to hear that he will also participate in the P5 debate.

Romney took second place in Florida in the 2008 presidential primary and his war chest has been considered one of the strengths of his presidential campaign.