Pawlenty Won't Sign Iowa Marriage Vow

With Rick Perry in race, Mitt needs a strong Bachmann

(NEWSER) - Michele Bachmann vanquished Tim Pawlenty and the other Republican also-rans in yesterday's Iowa straw poll , so let the real battle royale for the right begin—Bachmann vs. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, writes Steve Kornacki at Salon . "She crushed her biggest mainstream competitor," he writes, and Ron Paul, despite finishing a close second, is a "niche candidate." But Bachmann vs. Perry? With "the political world taking her more seriously," says Kornacki, "she'll put up a whale of a fight." More»

Ron Paul finishes second, Pawlenty third; Perry gets 718 write-ins

(NEWSER) - Rick Perry may have cast a big shadow over the Republican field today, but Michele Bachmann had a pretty good day, too: She won the Ames straw poll, with 4,823 votes of the nearly 17,000 cast, reports Politico . Ron Paul finished a close second (4,671), followed by Tim Pawlenty (2,293) in a distant third that doesn't bode well for his campaign. Rick Santorum (1,657) and Herman Cain (1,456) rounded out the top five. Perry got 718 write-in votes just hours after announcing his candidacy in another state and despite not being on the ballot. That's ahead of Mitt Romney (567), Newt Gingrich (385), and Jon Huntsman (69), all of whom were on the ballot but didn't contest. Bringing up the rear: Thaddeus McCotter with 35 votes. More»

Ames debate much feistier than last go-round

(AP) - Eight GOP hopefuls castigated President Obama and each other tonight in a frequently testy debate in Ames, Iowa. Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann were especially hostile to each other early, while Mitt Romney largely avoided any one-on-one battles and focused on the president. Overshadowing the debate: News that Rick Perry, who wasn't a participant, would announce his candidacy this weekend. Some highlights:

• Romney said, "I'm not going to eat Barack Obama's dog food," when asked whether he would have vetoed the debt ceiling legislation. "What he served up is not what I would have as president of the United States."

First expense reports offer a glimpse into each campaign

(NEWSER) - Want to get to know your 2012 candidates better? Take a look at what they're spending campaign cash on, courtesy of expense reports obtained by the Washington Post . The first major spending reports of the campaign reveal that the candidates have spent about $32 million so far.

• Tim Pawlenty: You can tell the "upstart" candidate is focused on Iowa because he's spent $200,000 at businesses in the state. Total spent so far: $2.5 million, and a large percentage of that went toward payroll—odd since his top aides are working for peanuts . (Funny tidbit: He spent $7.07 at a Godfather's Pizza restaurant—that, of course, is the pizza chain formerly run by his opponent, Herman Cain.)
• Mitt Romney: The "establishment" candidate spent money on, not surprisingly, security and consultants—plus $750,000 at businesses in New Hampshire. More of his budget—18%—goes to administrative expenses than any of his GOP opponents. Total spent so far: $5.7 million.

Bachmann impressed while Romney held firm, say pundits

(NEWSER) - Mitt Romney and, more surprisingly, Michele Bachmann looked like the big winners in last night's Republican debate in New Hampshire, analysts say.

• Bachmann, who announced her candidacy during the debate , was "at ease and forceful without looking at all crazy or out-of-control," writes EJ Dionne Jr. at the Washington Post . Romney, meanwhile, "did not lose anything," he notes, "which means that, since he leads in the polls in New Hampshire, he is a kind of winner."
• Romney "couldn't have scripted an easier debate for himself, writes Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman at Politico . He went in "looking strong and emerged from it stronger, as his opponents repeatedly passed up opportunities to go on the attack—and even inflicted damage on themselves as they tried to avoid confrontation."