Marathon Pundit: Romney leads Iowa poll, Bachmann close second

The Des Moines Register released its first 2012 Republican presidential poll and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney leads with 23 percent. Surprisingly, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), an Iowa native, trails Romney by one percent. She officially enters the race tomorrow. Herman Cain is the only other candidate to hit double-digits--10 percent. Another Minnesotan, former Governor Tim Pawlenty, collected a disappointing 6 percent, but he just initiated a big Hawkeye State push consisting of television ads and direct mailings that began after the poll was conducted. A GOP pollster told the Register, "It's way too early to be writing off Tim Pawlenty. I'm sure they’d rather be leading today, but I don't think they're jumping out of buildings either." I'd like to add that Pawlenty comes across much warmer in person than he does--for now--on television, which hill help him in the retail atmosphere of the Iowa Caucuses.

As for Romney, he led polls in the months before the 2008 caucuses--but Mike Huckabee walked away with the win.

But the big story here is Bachmann. Look for a plethora of stories from the mainstream media highlighting her "extremism" in the next few days.

Related post:

Marathon Pundit's Iowa I Opener

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