The official Iowa Straw Polls results are in: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) won first place, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) won second place, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty won third place and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum won fourth place. The Iowa Straw Poll results confirmed Bachmann’s frontrunner status in her home state of Iowa. The Iowa Straw Poll also confirmed that Paul’s support among Iowans is strong. The Iowa Straw Poll, held on Saturday in Ames, Iowa, is the most important Iowa poll in the months leading up to the Iowa Caucuses in February 2012.
Most of the GOP field participated in the Iowa Straw Poll with a few noticeable exceptions. GOP frontrunner and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney wasn’t a participate in the Iowa Straw Poll. However, Romney’s supporters were asked to show up in numbers at the Iowa Straw Poll. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich wasn’t a paid participant in the Iowa Straw Poll, but his name appeared on the ballot. Perhaps the most noticeable and newest GOP candidate to skip the Iowa Straw Poll was Texas Governor Rick Perry.
Perry announced his candidacy from South Carolina on Saturday. During his announcement speech, Perry said “it’s time to get America working again.” Perry also slammed Obama’s economic policies. Had Perry attended the Iowa poll, the Iowa Straw Poll results may have been drastically different as the longest-serving Texas Governor has grabbed several second place finishes in a number of recent polls.
After winning the Iowa Straw Poll, Bachmann released a statement on her official campaign website. “I want to thank the people of Iowa for for this tremendous victory. Together we sent a message that we intend to make President Obama a one term president,” Bachmann said about the Iowa Straw Poll results.
Bachmann won the Iowa Straw Poll with 28 percent of the vote. Paul grabbed a second place finish with 27 percent of the vote. The Iowa Straw Poll results show a margin of only 152 votes between Bachmann and Paul. Pawlenty grabbed third place with 14 percent of the vote. Santorum grabbed fourth place with 10 percent of the vote and former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain took fifth place with 9 percent of the vote. As a write-in candidate, Perry grabbed sixth place with 700 votes.
At the end of her statement, Bachmann explained what the Iowa Straw Poll results meant for the future of her campaign. “The Iowa Straw Poll was a important first step in what will be a long race for the presidency. Now we turn our attention toward winning the Iowa Caucuses and taking our message of reining in wasteful spending, keeping taxes low, growing our economy and creating jobs to the people of New Hampshire, South Carolina and all 50 states,” Bachmann professed.
Paul, who prepared for the Iowa Straw Poll by purchasing a piece of prime real estate at Iowa State University for $31,000 in June, was happy with the Iowa Straw Poll results. “These straw poll results, our growing poll numbers and our strong fundraising shows that our message is resonating with Iowans and Americans everywhere,” Paul’s campaign chairman Jesse Benton said. Paul’s campaign team added that “our message was the same in 2007 as it is in now in 2011, but this time we have quadrupled our support. That means our message is spreading, our support is surging, and people are taking notice.”
While Perry’s entry into the GOP race threatened to steal the spotlight from the Iowa Straw Poll, Bachmann and Paul are the clear winners of Iowa’s first big test for the GOP field.
