The race to be the Republican standardbearer in 2012 presidential elections got more serious Saturday as Texas Governor Rick Perry announced he would seek his party's nomination and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann won an early test in the politically crucial state of Iowa. Perry's announcement was made to conservative activists in South Carolina. "It is time to get America working again, and that's why with the support of my family and unwavering belief in the goodness of America, I declare to you today as a candidate for president of the United States." Bachmann, a congresswoman from Minnesota and a favorite of the conservative Tea Party movement, won the poll with 4,823 of the 16,892 votes cast in the fundraising event that garners massive US media attention ahead of each presidential election, according to a report of the German Press Agency "DPA". Texas Congressman Ron Paul snagged second place in the straw poll.
