The Republican Party of Iowa will hold its state convention Friday and Saturday, and with Iowa considered a battleground for both national and state races, all eyes turn to Hy-Vee Hall in Des Moines to see how strong the state’s minority party truly is.

Republican officials are outwardly optimistic about their chances this November to deliver the state to GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain and pick up seats in the state Legislature. But they readily admit their party faces an uphill struggle due in part to a large deficit in paid staff on the ground around the state.According to reports filed the Federal Election Commission on June 20, the Republican Party of Iowa had only seven salaried employees on staff, compared to 28 for the state Democrats (however, many of those employees were reassigned to work strictly for the Obama campaign). Since those reports were filed, the GOP announced the hiring of Nathan Treloar to serve as the state party’s communications director.

State filings paint a more ominous picture. According to expenditure reports filed with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, as of May 20 the Republican Party of Iowa had no paid staff focusing exclusively on state races, while the Iowa Democratic Party had an additional 27 salaried employees.

Observers said a gap this big in the number of paid staff in central offices and across the state could have major implications for November’s elections, mostly for state legislative candidates.

“One dedicated person in a rural legislative district working 40 hours a week, week after week, makes a tremendous difference,” said Gordon Fischer, former chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party. “In Iowa that grass-roots effort has a big impact.”

The situation is not news to GOP officials.

“The fact is, [the Iowa Democrats] have outnumbered us with paid staff in every election cycle since 2002,” said Caleb Hunter, executive director of the Republican Party of Iowa.

Hunter said big Democratic donors, such as labor unions, make it impossible for the GOP to match fund raising with their rivals.

“We require a lot more volunteer effort to compete on the ground,” Hunter said. “We’ve built up quite a strong base of volunteers across the state, and as we approach November, we will be adding more paid staff as well.”

Former state GOP Chairman Steve Grubbs said winning in Iowa rarely comes down to paid staff.

“It is about message and organization,” said Grubbs, a party strategist from Davenport. “If the Republicans have a strong volunteer organization at the county level, that will matter more than the number of staff.”

He said in 1998 the state GOP was out staffed but was still able to make big gains in state legislative races.

“I think the Republican base is beginning to get motivated, and that is how the party will be successful,” he said. “A lot will depend on what happens between now and November.”

Hunter said the state party is also going to rely on the national party and McCain’s presidential campaign to bolster its numbers and assist in local get-out-the-vote efforts.

Crystal Benton, a spokeswoman for the McCain campaign, said winning Iowa is a priority for the campaign, which is evidenced by the fact that one of its 11 regional headquarters is located in Urbandale. The Iowa office will oversee the campaign’s operations in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri, she said.

“Iowa is very important to us,” Benton said. “We plan on a very aggressive campaign in the state.”

In addition to McCain staff, Benton said the national Republican Party has sent and will continue to send paid staff to the state as part of the Victory program, a joint fund-raising effort with the McCain campaign.

“They will do a lot of work for our campaign and down-ticket races,” Benton said. “We are going to work hard to get out the vote.”

Fischer said the staffing deficit indicates that the Iowa GOP is hurting. In January then Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Ray Hoffmann stepped down in the middle of his second term following criticism about the party’s management. Then in February new state GOP Chairman Stewart Iverson fired the party’s two top staff members.

Grubbs said that there is little doubt this will be a challenging year for the Republican Party, but he stressed that things can turn around quickly.

“Anyone who assumes this election is predetermined just doesn’t understand history,” he said. “There is a lot to be decided in the next five months. I think Barack Obama will do a lot to unify our party’s base and turn them out on Election Day.”