Iowa Republicans hope that a nationally broadcast GOP presidential debate they've scheduled for August 11, 2011, in Ames will up the stakes for the Iowa Straw Poll two days later.

"We wanted to make sure it's bigger and better and more prominent than it's ever been before," Republican Party of Iowa chair Matt Strawn said Thursday in a conference call with reporters, less than an hour after announcing the two events.

The Iowa Straw Poll has historically been considered the critical first test of grassroots support for Republican presidential candidates in the first-in-the-nation caucus state.

However, the future of the Ames Republican straw poll was cast into doubt in June 2007 after former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Senator John McCain decided to skip the key event leading up to the caucus.

That's something the Iowa GOP hopes to avoid this time around.

Governor-elect Terry Branstad says budget cuts in the upcoming year will include reductions in the Iowa governor's office staff and security detail, and he will ask other state agencies to make similar cuts.

Branstad did not specify the number of positions that will be eliminated in his office, but said that he would have only one legislative liaison instead of two. He also said he would likely not fill some deputy-chief-of-staff positions. He said reducing his security detail will allow the state to put more state troopers on the road. He also said he'll lead by example with a goal of cutting the cost of state government by 15 percent over five years to align state spending with ongoing revenues.

Six Illinois House Republicans voted with 55 Democrats last week to approve a civil-unions bill. But a few of the Democratic "yes" votes were a bit more surprising.

All but one of the six Republicans were suburbanites. Bill Black, who is retiring later this month, was the only Downstater. Representatives Suzi Bassi and Beth Coulson were suburban "yes" votes who are not returning next year. Representatives Mark Beaubien, Rosemary Mulligan, and Skip Saviano were the other Republican "yes" votes, and all three are suburban legislators. None of those was a particularly huge surprise. Black has been a more traditionally liberal Republican for years, endorsed by labor unions and backed by many Democrats in his district. Black quoted late U.S. Senator Everett Dirksen during the debate, citing Dirksen's crucial vote for civil-rights legislation in 1964 as the basis for his own position.

One of the consequences of Governor Pat Quinn's laser-like focus on Chicago and Cook County during this fall's campaign was that he won just 20 to 22 of the state's 59 Senate districts, according to recent estimates by the Illinois Senate Democrats. That's not even close to half.

There's been plenty of hand-wringing in the Downstate media about the fact that Quinn only won three counties in their region, which comprises the vast majority of the state's geography. That's mostly irrelevant as far as statewide races go; a win's a win, period.

But it is legitimate to look at the totals when it comes to legislative districts. The lack of public support in a majority of districts can have a major impact on the coming legislative session, especially because Quinn lost quite a few Democrat-held districts by wide margins.