Bachmann wins Iowa straw poll

AMES, Iowa -- Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann won a test vote of Iowans on Saturday, a show of strength five months before the state's caucuses kick off the GOP presidential nominating season.

The result is the first indication of what Iowans think of the field of Republicans competing for the chance to challenge President Barack Obama next fall. But it's hardly predictive of who will win the winter Iowa contest, much less the party nod or the White House.

Rather, yesterday's outcome suggests Bachmann has a certain level of support and, perhaps even more important, the strongest get-out-the-vote operation and widest volunteer base in a state whose caucuses require those elements.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul finished second, just ahead of former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

The results of this nonbinding vote, held on the Iowa State University campus, came just hours after Texas Gov. Rick Perry entered the race.

Despite Perry's best efforts to overshadow the day, the epicenter of the presidential contest was in this Midwestern town, where 17,000 Iowans cast ballots during a daylong political festival, a late-summer ritual held every four years.

In speeches throughout the day, candidates scouted for support by assailing Obama and offering themselves as the answer to an America plagued by high unemployment, rising debt and stock market swings.

"We know what America needs. But unfortunately Barack Obama has no clue. He's like a manure spreader in a windstorm," Pawlenty said.

Bachmann stressed her Iowa roots as well as her faith, opposition to abortion rights and opposition to gay marriage. She earned cheers when she declared: "We are going to make Barack Obama a one-term president." Bachmann, riding high since entering the race earlier this summer, had hoped that a strong finish would give her even more momentum.

Pawlenty also had a lot on the line. He's ranked low in polls and was looking to prove he was still a viable candidate. He argued that he was the candidate of results, given his record as Minnesota governor.

Paul, with a following among libertarian-leaning voters, wanted a surprise showing that might convince Republicans he was more mainstream than not in his second shot at the GOP nomination.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, businessman Herman Cain and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich also were on the ballot. So were GOP front-runner Mitt Romney and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, though they weren't competing in the contest.

The straw poll amounts to a popularity contest and a test of organizational strength. Poor showings can force some candidates, those who are not well-known and are struggling to raise money, to abandon their bids.