A number of GOP candidates may soon drop out

If Saturday's Republican straw poll in Iowa goes as expected, a few presidential candidates for president will bow out of the race next week.  One of the contenders on the bubble is Tommy Thompson, who, according to Congressional Quarterly, is expected to call it quits if he finishes lower than second place:

Thompson, who trails the other GOP contenders in both the polls andfundraising, has set the Iowa straw poll as a decision-point of sorts.His campaign argues that a win or even second place finish on Saturdaycould catapult Thompson’s candidacy into the upper tier of GOPhopefuls, drawing media attention that would allow him to bolster hiscoffers and continue in the race. If he fails to make it into the toptwo, however, Thompson has said he likely will drop from the field.

Yesterday on MSNBC, Tom Tancredo, another GOP candidate, also indicated it would be hard for him to justify staying in the race if he has a poor showing on Saturday.

Rudolph Giuliani and John McCain will not participate in the event on Saturday, which 40,000 people will attend at Iowa State University.  Mitt Romney is the front-runner.

Remember though, this is not a legitimate poll.  It is a gathering of GOP activists all across the state of Iowa.  People must pay a poll tax in order to get in.  In other words, it's a fundraising opportunity creatively disguised as a poll.  However, the traditional media is making this out to be a huge event, so if candidates like Tommy Thompson and Tom Tancredo don't do well, then the negative media attention is what would convince them to drop out of the race.