The results are in: Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is the winner of Saturday’s Iowa straw poll with more than 4800 votes. “This is the very first step toward taking the White House in 2012,” Bachmann said, “and you have just sent a message that Barack Obama will be a one-term president.” The test vote isn’t necessarily indicative of who will win next year’s Iowa caucuses or ultimately be the GOP nominee. But the closely watched contest did deal a blow to third-place finisher Tim Pawlenty, who pulled out of the race yesterday. Texas Congressman Ron Paul came in second, just 152 votes behind Bachmann. Rich Santorum and Herman Cain rounded out fourth and fifth places. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, long considered the national front runner, didn’t campaign in the poll. On Sunday, Texas Governor Rick Perry upstaged all the GOP contenders, announcing his candidacy at the Black Hawk County GOP's Lincoln Day dinner in Waterloo. Politicos say the GOP presidential contest is now a three-way race between Bachmann, Perry and Romney. In all, 16,892 voters cast their straw poll ballot on the campus of Iowa State University. How exactly does this Iowa tradition work? How significant are the results? And given the peculiarity of its structure, why do donors give it so much weight?
Guests:
Jonathan Wilcox, Republican Strategist; former speech writer for Governor Pete Wilson
Chris Lehane, Democratic Political Consultant and Partner in the strategic communications firm Fabiani & Lehane