WASHINGTON — A former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, refused yesterday to let low turnout and the absence of some notable opponents diminish his dominant victory in Iowa’s Republican Party Straw Poll.

Mr. Romney said the straw poll did just what it was designed to do: Let candidates demonstrate support that could propel them to victory in the state’s caucuses this winter.

He maintained the decisions by Mayor Giuliani and Senator McCain of Arizona not to participate reflected his campaign’s strength. “I think if they thought they could have won, they would have been here,” Mr. Romney said on “Fox News Sunday.” “If you can’t compete in the heartland, if you can’t compete in Iowa in August, how are you going to compete in January when the caucuses are held, and how are you going to compete in November of ’08?”

Mr. Romney had been expected to win the test, largely an exercise reflecting a candidate’s organizational strengths, because he spent millions of dollars and months of effort on the event.

Mr. Romney scored 4,516 votes, 31.5%, to outpace a former Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee, who had 2,587 votes, 18.1%. Senator Brownback of Kansas was third with 2,192 votes, 15.3%.

While Mr. Romney won handily, Mr. Huckabee made the case for why his showing may be the most important story coming out of the straw poll. Mr. Huckabee said his showing was impressive because he had little money to spend. His campaign dedicated less than $100,000 to the straw poll.

“It wasn’t just that we surprised people with a second showing, it’s that we did it with so few resources,” Mr. Huckabee said yesterday. “This really was feeding the 5,000 with two fish and five loaves.”

Messrs. Brownback and Huckabee had waged a fierce competition for the loyalty of influential social and religious conservatives. Eight years ago, about 23,600 people voted in the straw poll. On Saturday, only about 14,000 did. Mr. Brownback called his third-place finish “a ticket on board to the caucuses” and downplayed Mr. Romney’s victory. “I think Mitt Romney has probably hit on top of his ceiling,” Mr. Brownback said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Mr. Huckabee said his victory catapulted him to the top tier of candidates. He said those who declined to participate in the straw poll did not want to be embarrassed by a poor showing.

“What they did was forfeit the game,” Mr. Huckabee said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “If you forfeit, it’s a loss. They knew they weren’t going to do well with Iowa voters because Iowa voters tend to be far more conservative.”

[In other news, Mr. Romney said he “misspoke” when he suggested that his sons’ work on his presidential campaign was comparable to serving in the military in Iraq, according to Bloomberg News.

“I misspoke,” the former Massachusetts governor said yesterday on “Fox News Sunday.” “It’s not service to the country, it’s service for me, and there’s just no comparison there.”

In Iowa last week, Mr. Romney was asked why his adult sons hadn’t enlisted in the military and responded by saying: “One of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected because they think I’d be a great president,” according to the Associated Press.]