Bachmann Wins Iowa Straw Poll – Paul A Close Second – Perry Announces

It was an eventful day in Republican Presidential politics that for the most part went exactly as most expected.

As I predicted in yesterday’s Arkansas Report, Rep. Michele Bachmann won the Iowa Straw Poll with 4,823 or 28% of the vote.  Several Arkansans were a part of her team including former Deputy Secretary of State Alice Stewart, who is the press secretary for the Bachmann campaign.  Helping her today as a volunteer was the new Secretary of State spokesman Alex Reed.

Close on Bachmann’s heels was Rep. Ron Paul with 4,671 or 27% of the vote.  Paul has a solid base of dedicated supporters that enable him to always do well in these straw poll events.  It remains to be seen if he can transfer this into success in an actual primary.

The rest of the pack was way behind these two.  Gov. Tim Pawlenty finished a distant third with 2,293.  This will likely be enough to keep him from dropping out, but just barely. (UPDATE – Pawlenty announced Sunday morning he is dropping out.) Sen. Rick Santorum exceeded expectations to some degree with a fourth place finish with 1,657.  Herman Cain finished fifth, which is below where he hoped with 1,456.  Perry finished sixth with 718 as a write-in candidate beating out Romney who pulled in 567.  In the bottom three were Newt Gingrich with 385 (still can’t figure out why he is still in it), John Huntsman with 69 and Thaddeus McCotter with 35.

The biggest news of the day, which likely overshadowed anything in Iowa, was Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s official announcement that he will run for President.  The announcement came at a blogger conference put on by Erik Erikson with RedState.com in South Carolina and occurred minutes before the Iowa Straw Poll began.

"Today, Gov. Rick Perry answered the call," said Rep. David Sanders, who is heading up the "Arkansans for Rick Perry" group. "His hopeful and optimistic vision is driven by passionate belief that America’s best days still lie ahead. Gov. Perry is a proven job creator who knows how to put Americans back to work and America on a path to prosperity and renewal. Two months ago, I and 19 Arkansas lawmakers encouraged Gov. Perry become a candidate for the presidency. Now, we stand ready to help him become President Rick Perry."