Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin offered her thoughts on Tuesday’s Iowa caucus, telling Fox News that she is not surprised former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney cruised to victory.
“I’m not surprised at his success tonight. He is a social conservative — that is what he is known for — and a lot of Iowa voters respect that and that is reflected in the vote tonight,” Ms. Palin said.
The Alaska Republican, who announced earlier this year that she would not seek the Republican presidential nomination, said Wednesday that she supported Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s decision to leave the race.
“Down the road, unless something really turns around for her, I don’t see a way to progress her candidacy to become the top tier candidate,” said Ms. Palin.
Ms. Bachmann announced Wednesday that she has “decided to stand aside” and is ending her bid for Republican presidential nomination after her last-place finish in the Iowa caucuses. The Minnesota Republican struggled in the polls leading up to the Iowa caucus and was widely seen as trailing the rest of the Republican field in terms of support beyond the state of Iowa.
The former Alaska governor also took time to praise former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Rick Santorum and Texas Republican Congressman Ron Paul.
“The GOP had better not marginalize Ron Paul and his supporters after this, because Ron Paul and his supporters understand that a lot of Americans are war weary and we are broke,” Ms. Palin said of Mr. Paul’s bid.
Mr. Paul, the congressman from Texas, finished in third place in Tuesday’s caucuses with 21 percent of the vote. Mr. Santorum finished in second place, just eight vote behind Mr. Romney.
Ms. Palin’s comments come just hours after the Iowa Republican Party finished tallying the votes. The state party announced early Wednesday that Mr. Romney had defeated Mr. Santorum, along with the rest of the Republican field.
Ms. Palin noted that she does not currently have any plans to endorse a candidate for president.
