Rep. Tom Tancredo's presidential campaign reportedly was the victim of an e-mail hoax on the eve of today's Republican Party straw poll in Ames, Iowa.

The Des Moines Register reports that a hoax e-mail sent on Friday to almost 500 Tancredo supporters told them — falsely — that chartered busses to ferry them to the daylong events had either been cancelled or delayed.

"This is a blatant attempt to derail our efforts for the straw poll," campaign spokesman Alan Moore told the newspaper.

The campaign was trying to contact voters to assure them that straw poll transportation was on track as scheduled.

Tens of thousands of Republicans will gather in Ames Saturday for a daylong festival and non-binding vote that's considered the first major test of the GOP presidential contest.

Tancredo is among the second-tier candidates hoping for a surprising showing that will create momentum going into the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, currently scheduled in January.