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Straw poll: Huckabee spent just $58 per vote for 2nd place and revived prospects

The top three finishers in the Iowa Republican Party straw poll are on talk shows today. We'll be back later with a report on what they said. Meanwhile, here's our own cost-benefit analysis of how they did yesterday at the Ames event:

•Third-place finisherSam Brownback says he spent about $325,000 to win his 2,192 votes. That's $148.27 for each vote.
•Second-place finisherMike Huckabee spent about $150,000 and received 2,587 votes. That's $57.98 per vote.
•WinnerMitt Romney has not said how much he spent. The reporting inthisWashington Post article suggests at least $2 million and possibly more than twice that much. Assuming $2 million for 4,516 votes, that's $442.87 per vote. But it could top $1,000.

Several reports this morning suggest the real "win" went to Huckabee, a pastor, rock musician and former Arkansas governor. The consensus on the big loser: former Wisconsin governorTommy Thompson, who said he had to finish first or second to stay in the race and came in sixth. Here's what some are saying:

• The Politico: Romney wins big, Huckabee second. Jonathan Martin saysRomney's victory was "diminished" by the absence of other major candidates. He also reports that Romney "conceded it was 'not a huge turnout,' admitting that they had an 'attrition rate' of more than 20 percent in some cases. Still, he said that such no-shows were expected, pointing to the scorching hot temperatures as one reason that Republicans stayed away." Huckabee's comment, post-poll: "All those people that said if we have traction they’d support us? We’ve got the traction, now we’re waiting for the checks.”

•Des Moines Register: Republicans Seem Lethargic About Their Choices. Analyst David Yepsen looks at turnout and other factors and concludes that Romney's "victory was a bit hollow. There are signshe may not be the prohibitive frontrunner in Iowa after all." The paper's Tom Beaumont discusses turnout in his story headlinedRomney's Straw Poll Drive Pays Off. "Organizers had hoped to improve upon the most recent straw poll in 1999, when almost 24,000 people voted. In 1995, the vote total was 10,958. An estimated 30,000 Republicans from around the state attended, also short of the 38,000 who came in 1999."

• The Washington Post, Huckabee's 2nd Place 'Win' In Ames. "The biggest political event of the 2007 calendar year gave former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney a victory, butthe biggest winner may well be former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who placed a surprising second," Chris Cillizza writes in The Fix.

• Captains Quarter's: Ames Poll Produces Winner -- And It May Not Be Romney. Conservative blogger Ed Morrissey writes: "The Ames straw poll in Iowa has concluded in a raucous day of policy and showmanship, and in the end the man who spent the most money in Iowa won the most votes. However,the real winner may be the man who spent nothing but time and effort in hopes of breaking out of the second tier." He's talking about Huckabee.

• ABC News: Thompson's Iowa Exit Strategy. "After the results of the straw poll were announced, Thompson's advisor, Steve Grubbs, said it would be be "all but impossible" for the Governor's campaign to continue," our friends at Political Radar write. An announcement is expected in the next day or two.

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