Digital Politics in the Heart of Iowa

This Saturday, thousands of Iowans will flock to the center of the state to cast a vote for their preferred Republican Presidential candidate at the Ames Straw Poll. The Ames Straw Poll is held ahead of the first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucuses and serves as an important indicator of strength of the candidates in the critical early state. Although many other states and organizations have adopted straw polls, the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa has become one of the most important during the election cycle. This decades-old campaign trail tradition keeps politics local and personal -- and this time, we’re making it digital.

The Iowa Republican - a news site dedicated to producing original political commentary by and for Republicans - is kicking off the Iowa Republican Soapbox to bring the voices of local Iowans to the world. The Soapbox will let elected officials, candidates, and engaged Iowa Republicans speak out and have their say on issues and the direction of our country through The Iowa Republican’s YouTube Channel.
If you are planning on being in Ames on Saturday, August 13th, swing by our tent. We’ll have cold drinks, a roster of candidates stopping by and a spot for you on the Soapbox.

You’ve already made campaigns a more open political conversation using social media platforms like YouTube and Blogger, and now Google+. In the 2012 campaign, The Soapbox is our latest effort to help shift the balance back towards the voters. Everyday citizens across the globe are rolling up their sleeves, saying what they believe, and being heard.

As the country starts down the path to select our next President, we’re working to give you information and tools to be a larger part of the process from the beginning. We recently announced our participation in the Des Moines Register Debate to have candidates answer your questions in the final debate before the 2012 Iowa Republican Caucus. And we’re just getting started. We hope that a more open and local political conversation is useful to you, candidates, news organizations, and our democracy.

Posted by Ginny Hunt, Google Elections Product Manager