Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul finished a close second to Michele Bachmann in the Iowa Straw Poll Saturday. And his supporters are upset that the Texas congressman isn’t getting much media attention in the aftermath, with Bachmann and new presidential candidate Rick Perry stealing the headlines,
Politico reports.
The Minnesota congresswoman took first place in the straw poll with 4,823 votes, or 28.6 percent of the total, while Paul garnered 4,671 votes, or 27.7 percent.
Paul wasn’t able to translate that showing into an appearance on any of the Sunday morning TV talk shows, and most major newspapers, aside from The New York Times and The Des Moines Register, didn’t even include his name in the headlines of their stories about the poll.
Most pundits see the Republican contest as a three-horse race between Bachmann, Texas Gov. Perry and front-runner Mitt Romney.
“We are certainly disappointed, and we think that people are missing a very big story here,” said Jesse Benton, Paul’s campaign manager. “You look at ’07. Mike Huckabee was able to turn what was a very weak second place — Mitt Romney had 4,516 votes and Huckabee had 2,587 — into a huge national story.”
Meanwhile, Paul has launched a new TV ad, titled “The One,” attacking his big three rivals, The Hill reports.
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The spot, which is akin to a movie trailer, groups Perry, former Massachusetts Gov. Romney, and Bachmann together with President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a montage criticizing "smooth-talking politicians" and "games of ‘he said, she said.' "
The ad will air Iowa and New Hampshire, where the campaign’s first two nominating contests will take place.
"Ron Paul, the one who can beat Obama and restore America now," reads the spot’s tagline.
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