Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush will skip the traditional Iowa straw poll and instead attend a competing event in Atlanta, the Des Moines Register reported based on unnamed GOP sources in the state.

The former Florida governor is the first significant 2016 contender to opt out of the "nationally renowned event that has drawn significant criticism over the years," according to the Register.

The straw poll has been accused of being a poor predictor of Iowa's caucuses and unfavorable to candidates who do not appeal to the party's most conservative circles, the New York Times explained. Nevertheless, the event, which was first held in 1979, "brings the winner a burst of national publicity and perceived momentum," the newspaper noted.

On the weekend in August when the poll is set to be held, Bush will instead attend the RedState Gathering, a conservative conference in Atlanta, the Des Moines Register detailed -- a move criticized by Iowa GOP chair Jeff Kaufman, who tweeted his displeasure.

"We don't buy this excuse, and neither will Iowans," Kaufman noted, pointing out that other Republican contenders, including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Hewlett-Packard executive Carly Fiorina, apparently plan to attend both the four-day RedState Gathering and the Iowa Straw Poll.

"We hope Governor Bush rethinks his decision and realizes that grass-roots will only grow in Iowa if he waters them," the local GOP chief added in a statement, according to CNN.

Bush, however, is drawing on precedent in his decision to skip the event. The New York Times pointed out Sen. John McCain declined to participate in 2008, as did former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney four years later; both candidates eventually won their party's nomination.

Given its challenged legitimacy, straw poll organizers have announced a number of changes in the meantime, the newspaper added. For example, the Iowa Republican Party deeply reduced the costs campaigns face for participating in the event by moving it to a cheaper site and eliminating charges up to $35,000 for a spot to set up a tent and tables.

"It is time to relegate the pay-to-play nature of the Iowa Straw Poll to the dustbin of history,'' Kaufmann wrote in an op-ed for Politico.