Perry, Bachmann appear in Iowa in top tier of GOP presidential candidates

By Steven Thomma

McClatchy Newspapers

WATERLOO, Iowa -- It's a new race for Republicans as they head toward fall seeking a 2012 presidential nominee to challenge President Barack Obama.

They have a new top tier of choices: Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and Mitt Romney. And in an unusually open race for a party prone to nominating the next in line, they remain open to any of them, having refused to rally behind any.

"Republicans still haven't found their champion," Iowa political analyst Dennis Goldford said.

Bachmann emerged from a weekend straw poll the front-runner in Iowa, the state that will begin the voting in the winter.

The last Republican to win the White House was much stronger at this point in his own party than any of the contenders now.

Twelve years ago, George W. Bush roared into Iowa, taking 7,418 votes in a surging turnout for the straw poll, or 31.3 percent. He was 10 points ahead of his nearest competitor, businessman Steve Forbes.

On Saturday, Bachmann won 4,823 votes, 28.6 percent of a much smaller turnout. She barely edged out Rep. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson, who won 4,671 votes, or 27.7 percent.

But even as one Iowa rival dropped out of the race, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, she found a far more formidable challenger invading her hometown of Waterloo on Sunday evening.

Texas Gov. Perry jumped at an invitation to a country Republican dinner to pitch his message of jobs and social conservatism. "I happen to think the biggest issue facing this country is that we are facing economic turmoil, and if we don't have a president that doesn't get this country working, we're in trouble," Perry told the crowd at the Black Hawk County Republican Party's Lincoln Day fundraiser. "Since 2009, 40 percent of all the jobs created in America were created in the state of Texas."

Waterloo Republican Mike Peters said: "He's excellent. He's my top choice. He's both a social and economic conservative. And he has experience as a governor who created jobs. He may have the best chance to beat Obama."

A few minutes later, Bachmann addressed the same crowd. "We are a movement ... of social conservatives and fiscal conservatives," she said. "We will take the country back. I know that it's going to happen."

Neither Bachmann nor Perry mentioned the other.

Perry's appearance at the dinner underscored how quickly the contest has changed.

Six weeks ago, none of the announced candidates or Perry would commit to speak at the Black Hawk County Republican Party Lincoln Day fundraising dinner. But then they all wanted to be there.

Bachmann's campaign at first wouldn't commit, wanting to wait until after the results of the straw poll were in.

Perry jumped at the chance. "Perry was the first to respond," said Black Hawk County Republican Chairman Mac McDonald.

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