Bachmann Defends Credentials Ahead of Annoucement Tour

Michele Bachmann trails Mitt Romney by slim margin in Iowa, new poll shows; Herman Cain comes in 3rd

BY Philip Caulfield
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Sunday, June 26th 2011, 12:00 PM

Susan Walsh/AP

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota in 2008.

Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann are running neck and neck in Iowa, according to a new poll.
The presidential campaign cycle's first Des Moines Register Iowa Poll showed the Minnesota congresswoman trailing Romney, the Republican front-runner, by just one point in the crucial lead-off caucus state.
Romney received support from 23% of likely Republican caucus-goers, while Bachmann received 22%, the poll said.
"She's up there as a real competitor and a real contender," said Republican pollster Randy Gutermuth, who is unaffiliated with any of the presidential candidates, told the Register. "This would indicate that she's going to be a real player in Iowa."
The Tea Party favorite is set to announce her campaign on Monday in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa.
In an appearance on Fox News Sunday, the three-term representative said voters were wowed by her performance at a New Hampshire debate two weeks ago and told host Chris Wallace that she has a "titanium spine for doing what we need to do."
"I am very serious about what I want to do," Bachmann said. "People recognize that I'm serious."
Wallace took aim at Bachman's reputation as Tea Party mouthpiece and cable news bomb-thrower, asking at one point, "Are you a flake?"Read more: