It goes to show how much of Ames is groundgame and retail politics. Brownback may not have impressed many in debates or as a national candidate but he has been working very hard, has spent by one count 37 days in Iowa (nearly as many as Romney’s 43) and has over 10 paid staffers there. He has also been getting a lot of play with the Romney abortion issue. Does he have staying power beyond Ames? Maybe not, but coming in ahead of Huckabee and the others will thin out the field.
