saturday was a day i'd been looking forward to for weeks. at the beginning of july i had purchased tickets through the ron paul campaign to attend the ames straw poll. you probably know that iowa is very influential, politically. the results of the iowa caucus can be a huge boost for any candidate and events like the straw poll can really set the tone for the campaign trail. candidates spend a lot of time in iowa in the year leading up to an election and you can often meet them at local events or see them chowing on a corn-dog at the state fair. though mr.a and i are actually libertarian, not republican, we are big fans of ron paul, so we went to support him.
i was immediately excited when we pulled into the stadium parking lot. you guys know i love any event where there are tons of people, and this certainly qualified. we had to park about a mile away but you could feel the energy before you could even see the crowd. and man, was there a crowd.
all those red shirts = ron paul votes!
we got there just in time to hear rp's speech. we didn't even try to go inside the coliseum, so we hung out on the lawn and watched the jumbotron.
after his speech, we got our tickets and headed up to vote!
each voter gets to leave their mark!
after voting, we listened to rand and ronny paul speak, got free food & drinks, listened to a band play, held these adorable puppies and enjoyed some great people-watching.
to help patients with ptsd.
though ron paul didn't win the straw poll, he came in an incredibly-close second place. only 150 votes behind michele bachmann. a disappointment, for sure, but i'm so glad we got to experience the straw poll!
That looks awesome! And so do you!