The Ames Straw Poll, Where Ticket Buyers Go Full Circle in Their Looniness (1987-2011)

Eventual nominee highlighted in orange.  All screenshots are from Wikipedia.

GOP candidates face early test in 2012 campaign. (My Way, 8/13/2011)

Excerpt: Those willing to shell out $30 for a ticket were eligible to vote, though some campaigns paid for tickets they distributed to backers. Some also organized bus caravans to bring backers to the event. Turnout in the past has ranged from 14,000 to 23,000.

The poll results are nonbinding, amount to a popularity contest and offer candidates a chance to test their get-out-the-vote organizations. Nonetheless, the outcome probably will provide a road map for the Iowa campaign heading into the caucuses that are just four months away.