DES MOINES, Iowa — Michele Bachmann announced Wednesday she was suspending her presidential campaign following her poor showing in Tuesday’s Iowa caucuses, where she finished in sixth place with only five percent of the vote.
Surrounded by family members, including her husband and parents, the Minnesota congresswoman told a press conference, “I will not be continuing” in the race but also vowed to “continue to fight to defeat the president’s agenda of socialism.
“Last night the people of Iowa spoke with a very clear voice,” she said. “And so I have decided to stand aside and I believe that if we are going to repeal Obamacare, turn our country around and take back our country, we must do so united.
“And I believe that we must rally around the person that our country and our party and our people select to be that standard-bearer.”
Bachmann, who had originally said she would move forward and campaign in South Carolina despite the resounding defeat, reversed course within hours.
With Bachmann’s announcement, and an initial statement by fifth-place finisher Texas Gov. Rick Perry that he would “reassess” his campaign, the fight for the Republican nomination appeared to narrow to the top four Iowa finishers.
But Perry’s campaign tweeted Wednesday that he would campaign in South Carolina, site of the third Republican nominating contest Jan. 21, apparently putting him back in the race.
The other top contenders are former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who defeated Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum by a mere eight votes in the Iowa caucuses, each with 25 percent of the returns, followed by Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) with 21 percent and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich with 13 percent.
Bachmann, 55, announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination last June in her birthplace of Waterloo, Iowa.
Founder of the Tea Party caucus in Congress, she has represented Minnesota’s 6th congressional district since 2007.