Jeb Bush Will Skip the Iowa Straw Poll

Jeb Bush plans to skip the Iowa Straw Poll this summer and instead attend a competing event in Atlanta.

The all-but-announced presidential candidate is the first in the Republican 2016 field to opt out of the straw poll, a contest that has been criticized for being unrepresentative and costly.

The former Florida governor would likely have a poor showing in the poll: Bush polled seventh out of 14 GOP contenders in a poll earlier this month, and 25% percent of likely Iowa GOP caucusgoers said they would definitely not support him.

Bush, who confirmed with the Des Moines Register on Tuesday that he is skipping the poll, will instead by at the RedState Gathering in Atlanta, where he will address Republican activists.

The chairman of the Iowa Republican Party has already criticized Bush for the decision.