Tim Pawlenty has announced that he will not be going any further with his bid to earn the Republican presidential nomination after finishing third in the Ames straw poll over the weekend. Bachmann was the declared winner of that poll while Texas Representative, Ron Paul was second. Those two finished within one percentage point of one another.

Bachmann took that opportunity to say that it was a clear sign that her team was unbeatable and to take jibes at President Obama who is currently suffering his lowest approval rating of his presidency. Her victory statement went on to say that the people were sick of Obama’s politics and were ready for a change.

Two of the nine listed on the Iowa ballot were not there during the straw poll, including former governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney and former governor of Utah, Jon Huntsman. Huntsman has said that he will be avoiding the Iowa caucuses completely but Romney is taking a more cautious, wait and see approach. He did send a tweet to Michelle Bachmann offering his well wishes and congratulations but has said that if there is an opening of any kind, he will not hesitate to make his move.

Texas Governor Rick Perry was not even on the straw poll ballot and did well enough to announce that he is officially in the race. He made that announcement in South Carolina at a meeting of conservatives. His 718 write in votes was nearly two hundred more votes than Romney had. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who has ran a very cost effective campaign so far finished a respectable fourth place despite being outspent nearly ten to one by nearly every other candidate.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had less than four hundred votes on the straw poll but had no plans of dropping out of the race. This is not the first time that Gingrich has been faced with the question of him quitting though. Money troubles have plagued his campaign and most of his original staff jumped ship early in the campaign trail.

Sarah Palin, has not announced her plans one way or another, but was present in Iowa. Initially, there was huge interest in the apparent rivalry between Palin and Bachmann. Bachmann kicked off her campaign in her hometown, while Palin debuted her documentary film just a few miles away. Speculation about Palin has cast a shadow over many of the discussions and interviews by the current candidates, with her name coming up more than a time or two.

Michelle Bachman’s campaign has not been without its problems, however. There have been a number of protests in relation to her husband’s “clinic” which claims that it can cure gay people by “praying away the gay”. At the center of some of those protests is the knowledge that public funds may be funding that clinic, at least in part. Bachmann’s mangling of US history, rivalled only by Palin’s mistakes, have also made her an easy target by her critics.