Bachmann wins Iowa Straw Poll, Pawlenty ends Candidacy after Disappointing 3rd Place Finish

Complete Results: Des Moines Register

Politico: Michele Bachmann wins, Ron Paul a close second at Iowa straw poll

Michele Bachmann has been named the winner of the Iowa straw poll, taking 4,823 votes out of nearly 17,000 cast. Ron Paul was a close runner-up, taking 4,671 votes and trailing Bachmann by less than 200 ballots. In a distant third place was former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who took 2,293 votes after investing heavily in the event.

The rest of the lineup: Rick Santorum – 1,657 votes; Herman Cain – 1,456 votes; Rick Perry – 718 votes; Mitt Romney – 567 votes; Newt Gingrich – 385 votes, Jon Huntsman – 69 votes; Thaddeus McCotter – 35 votes.

Romney, Huntsman and Gingrich were listed on the ballot, but did not contest the poll. Perry’s sixth place finish came despite not being listed on the ballot; his votes came through write-ins, since the Texas governor only announced his campaign this weekend.

Des Moines Register: Pawlenty drops out; says audience ‘was looking for something different’

Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty has dropped out of the race for president following a disappointing third-place finish at the Iowa straw poll.

Despite his heavy investment and well-run operation in Iowa, Pawlenty was never able to build a rapport with voters and achieve the necessary groundswell of support.

Pawlenty on ABC’s “This Week” this morning said he thought he offered a “rational, established, strong, credible record of results” as a two-term governor of “a blue state.”

But he added, “There are a lot of other choices in the race. The audience, so to speak, was looking for something different.”