U.S. congresswoman Michele Bachmann, of the conservative Tea Party movement, has won a key Republican party pre-election campaign poll in the state of Iowa.
The Iowa straw poll held in Ames attracted about 17,000 voters and is considered the first big test of the 2012 presidential race.
Bachmann narrowly beat her rival Ron Paul in the non-binding contest. The vote was held on the same day Texas Governor Rick Perry announced his intention to run for the presidency.
It comes five months before the first official Iowa primaries in the race for the White House. Leading Republican candidate Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney did not campaign in the contest but still received 567 votes while the newly declared candidate, Rick Perry, whose name was not on the ballot paper, still won 718 "write-in" votes.
compiled from agency reports
The Iowa straw poll held in Ames attracted about 17,000 voters and is considered the first big test of the 2012 presidential race.
Bachmann narrowly beat her rival Ron Paul in the non-binding contest. The vote was held on the same day Texas Governor Rick Perry announced his intention to run for the presidency.
It comes five months before the first official Iowa primaries in the race for the White House. Leading Republican candidate Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney did not campaign in the contest but still received 567 votes while the newly declared candidate, Rick Perry, whose name was not on the ballot paper, still won 718 "write-in" votes.
compiled from agency reports