Ames, Iowa ? Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won an easy and expected victory in a high-profile Iowa Republican Party Straw Poll on Saturday, claiming nearly twice as many votes as his nearest rival.

Romney had been expected to win the test because he spent millions of dollars and months of effort on an event that was skipped by two of his major rivals.

Romney scored 4,516 votes, or 31.5 percent, to outpace former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee who had 2,587 votes, or 18.1 percent. Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback was third with 2,192 votes, 15.3 percent.

Announcement of the results was delayed for 90 minutes because a hand count was required on one of the 18 machines.

The biggest loser of the evening likely was former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, who finished in 6th place with 1,039 votes. He had said repeatedly that if he didn’t finish in the top two his campaign was likely to end. He left the event before the results were announced, and there was no announcement from his campaign.

The missing big names got only a handful of votes.

Former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee got 203 votes. He was on the ballot, although not an officially declared candidate.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani received 183 votes, and Sen. John McCain of Arizona got 101.

Brownback and Huckabee had waged a fierce competition for the loyalty of influential social and religious conservatives. Brownback put the best face on his showing.

“I think this is a ticket forward for us,” Brownback said. “It was pretty close.”

In all, there were 14,302 ballots cast, nearly 10,000 fewer than in a similar poll in 1999. Then-Gov. George W. Bush won that poll with roughly 7,400 votes, and went on to win the caucuses and White House.