ready, ames, fire. today's straw poll in iowa, known by some as the grim reaper of presidential bids, is the first opportunity for republican voters to weigh in on the gop field and it is making the 2012 elections look a lot closer on the horizon. tim pawlenty and michele bachmann fighting and keeping up with high expectations. rick perry attempts to ace distract voters with his announcement of his candidacy elsewhere. let's get everybody caught up for who haven't been following every second of this. what happened there? >> this is tim pawlenty just finished his speech today and got a very good reception. the peach came from ron paul who rocked the house from the

supporters he normally ends up having on the message of his pro-life positions and as well as his anti-war rhetoric. michele bachmann is going to be the next to speak. tim pawlenty had a settle dig at bachmann talking about his experience and how it is important. the stakes are very high for tim pawlenty as he and michele bachmann are battling for the ames straw poll. ron paul is in the mix. electricity is starting to pick up. bachmann's speech is coming momentarily. that will be very interesting. >> give us a sense of what it has been like there today. you know, we were talking a little bit earlier to some of the other reporters who were there for -- real clear politics and so on. and, you know, they were talking about different levels of enthusiasm. in the crowd and checking out the lines. what have you seen so far in the last couple of hours? >> chris, if you love politics, this is just great. it's reminded me -- >> i'm so jealous. have you no idea. >> just going from ten to tent, everybody is having a great time.

this is essentially political football where people are serving food and they are serving beer and they are -- having rides for kids and really just a festival and everyone here, i mean, the message overall, particularly in the arena, very anti-obama, anti-democratic, people are trying to make the case for themselves if they should get the republican nomination and at least have the leg up for that first in the nation, iowa caucuses. overall, this is just all about politics. and, of course, you know, people in iowa take their politics very seriously. and example of that is what's happening today. >> they do, indeed. and do you get a sense that they -- as members of the republican party feel an opportunity given what's going on with the approval ratings of the president and certainly the unemployment rate and what's been going on in the stock market over the last week. >> i think so, chris. republicans do sense an opportunity. one thing i have noticed in american politics is republicans are really fired up. the question is that it is -- fired up a year ago when we saw

them take back the house in the senate. sometimes after a very big victory you let down your guard. these people here are very fired up. of course, this is the rank and file. we end up having some 10,000-plus people. that's a lot for one single day. of course to be able to win iowa in a general election or even in the iowa caucuses, you will need a lot more votes than that. >> thanks so much. always good to see you, mark. as mark told us tim pawlenty wanted up his remarks. already from a couple of other hopefuls, rick santorum and ron paul. >> the problems are very large. they are very difficult. the solution is not complicated if you understand how we got into this mess. basically we got into this mess because we have lost respect for our law of the land, constitution, and we have lost our enthusiasm for freedom. that we ourselves can take better care of ourselves and take better care of our money and our lives and our children's

education. the whole works has done much better without the federal government down on our backs and in our wallets. it is time we restored freedom to america. >> for every little bit of recognition we can get. i had to wave my hand and ask for recognition. this is the little engine that could campaign. >> what are the stakes for all the contenders going into this weekend's poll? caucus blogger michael sheer is covering the poll for "the new york times." national correspondent kate zerniki. michael, let me start with you since you are there. who has the most at stake there today? >> well, i think, you know, the sense really is that both michele bachmann and tim pawlenty are the ones battling it out. either one could lose big if they really do as well as everyone expects.

they ex-michele bachmann to win and if she doesn't that could be bad. tim pawlenty has to show his campaign has some energy here. >> let's talk about the non-front-runners. and i think you and i can agree. who doesn't want to eat deep fried butter. that's at the fairgrounds but i digress. someone like a newt gingrich, for somebody like a rick santorum for ron paul, is this make or break n. >> you know, i think ron paul is the one thing you -- one candidate you have to set aside. if ron paul wins the straw poll they will dismiss it. he has fervent supporters. he has to keep going. he is not easily deterred. supporters are very, very -- >> someone that learned to run a campaign on almost no money. >> absolutely. he has raised a lot of money in the past. he's eager supporters. that's -- that candidate set aside. i think some of the other ones like gingrich and santorum, they don't do well, they are going to

be dropping out. >> so -- now we have this situation where there are people that are not on the ballot. mitt romney, rick perry. what's your sense of being there, michael, the buzz about those candidates? >> it is interesting. mitt romney will be on the ballot here. people can vote him up or down. they don't expect to get many votes because he's not made a push or presence. doesn't have a presence here. i talked to a couple of people about rick perry as i have been traveling in -- walking around the grounds here today. and most of them are quizzical. they don't really know him very much. he has not been a presence here in iowa since he just got in the race but also not a presence just generally over the years. there is a real sense of kind of wanting to know more about him before they -- they really make a decision. >> and she's not on the ballot, sarah palin, but somehow she managed to get into the news cycle by taking her bus and taking it to iowa. also, saying that she wasn't going to talk about

enforcements. she hasn't decided whether she will get into the race or not. has she -- is she reaching the line where people are just going to stop listening? or no? >> i actually she she may have reached the line a little while ago. she played coy for so long and has been in the game of cat and mouse. at a certain point you have to declare you are in. rick perry feels late coming into the game. i think sarah palin has to make up her mind fairly soon. what strikes me is that the old line is that -- democrats want to fall in love and republicans want to fall in line. but this -- this year, it seems like republicans actually are looking for an candidate they can fall in love with. sarah palin may have been that person saying nine months ago but they are still looking for that person in iowa today. >> do you get that sense being there, because i think i agree with kate about that. in talking to some republican strategists over the last week, they are all still anxiously waiting for that sort of person to emerge, that star to emerge, that shining light who can lead them out of the land as they see it of barack obama, michael.

is that the sense you get being there? >> yes. i definitely think so. i agree with kate that it may be too late for sarah palin. i have to tell you, she came to the constituent fair. i was there with her and i was caught in essentially a mob crowds? >> yes. i me, i think, you know, here at the straw poll, definitely feels like the biggest crowds are around the tent. for michele bachmann. but i will tell you, ron paul, you know, he's -- on a college campus here and he gets an awful lot of hoots and hollers and

applause and, you know, although agree with kate the pundits won't think very much of it should he win, you definitely get a sense of energy around him as well. >> what roll does someone like him, kate, not going to win the nomination play in a process like this? >> you know, it is really hard to say. ron paul is the godfather of the tea party movement. he is very much pushing the party to talk much more at the constitution, much more about -- if we listened to the receipt wick we are hearing in washington now -- >> it is coming from him. >> it is. it is this -- you know, government down to its bare bones. government down to the most bare responsibilities. that's come from ron paul in 2007. we are looking at that and has been saying this for four years. particularly since he ran the last time. >> let us not forget, ' --' 8. '88, he is consistent. >> kate, it is great to see you always. thank you, matt, so much. appreciate it.

texas governor rick perry riding in to steal thunder from the straw poll participants. earlier this afternoon. >> 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. >> the question is can he steal the spotlight from the lady of the hour, michele bachmann? doesn't look like either of them backing down any time soon. of. 20 years later she did the same with hand painted martini glasses. love my martini collection took

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back in ames, iowa. there you see the supporters

waiting to hear from michele bachmann. one of two conservative contenders shaping up to be the hard charging stars this weekend. of course, both have a big following among evangelical voters. we heard a short time ago the announcement from texas governor rick perry and as i said we are waiting for michele bachmann. keith boykin is a democratic strategist, cnbc contributor, and editor of "the daily voice" joined by susan delpercio. susan, what's the appeal of these two candidates, do you think? >>? iowa, they are conservatives and it is the fact that they are kind of dyeing the wool, don't raise taxes, keep spending low, slash the budget. i think that plays really well there. >> do you think -- michele bachmann is having. tytations with rick perry in the race? >> i think she mass something he doesn't have, obviously. she is a woman. the republican party? m some ways is envious of the

excitement barack obama had with barack obama and hillary clinton. have you somebody like michele bachmann in the race who brings the energy to the party and to the campaign they wouldn't have had. >> are you suggesting like the middle-aged white male just doesn't do it anymore? >> they are very good with that. >> democrats, truth be told, if you look who is in congress and you look at who is in the state houses many are middle-aged white men but i digress. >> it is about who are they running against. against mitt romney, question. michele bachmann brings a lot. ron perry -- rick perry, excuse me, will bring a lot to the table. if you listened to his speech today he brought it on hard. we keep talking about leadership and i know i will get a million e-mails about this, but -- a male will come off stronger when you talk about overall leadership for the country. he talks about his military service. it was no accident that he brought up the middle east and foreign affairs. i think that may in this case be to his advantage.

>> i think he overshadows the rest of the candidates. he clearly has something the other candidates don't have. compared to some of the other candidates. he's also a governor. you know, michele bachmann for all his strengths is not a governor. how many times have we had a member of the house of representatives get elected as a president of the united states? if you look at the most successful presidents who had in the past, they have almost all been governors. so i think he has a good chance of making it just because of that and -- the problem is for -- for perry, though, he has to stand out from the impression a lot of people who are just being introduced to him, another republican texas governor like we had before. do we want to go back to that? >> someone that created jobs but at the same time he's also somebody that has slashed education and i think texas is 47th in spending on education. the environmental record there is very bad. i think in -- one marinesent survey by well-respected organization, it came in dead last. so you balanced the budget but at? i'm wondering if someone that

conservative, if they win the nomination, do they have a chance in the general election? >> it is what every presidential nominee faces when they are running in the primary for their party nominee. you saw on the democrats -- everyone thought oh, is obama going to be too liberal and brought it in. that's what do you when you run in the general. you take -- you have to appeal to your base in the primary and then bring it back to more of the center when you run general. that's what everyone does. i think he can do that. >> let's talk about what's going on right now in ames because we have less -- little more than an hour of voting now. probably about -- 6:00 eastern time. so -- two hours and 45 minutes before we get the results. what are you going to be looking for, keith? >> i'm going to be looking to see what happens to tim pawlenty. will he stay in the race or drop out because of -- >> what does he have to do to stay in the race? >> in the greenroom, we were discussing he has to finish second. he said something he can finish up in the top five and still say stay in the race. nobody will take him seriously if he is not in the top three.

fourth or fifth, he may as well give it up. beyond that -- >> let me interrupt you. michele bachmann has taken the podium. lets listen. >> is right here in this room, in ames, iowa, we are going to do it together! and take it back. my name is michele bachmann. i am running to be the next president of the united states of america! and together we are going to make barack obama a one-term president. from one iowan to another, iowa will be the -- pace car, if you will, to set the tone and set the taste for bring thing

country back to its greatness that it was intended for and that it was meant for. it is iowa where we are going to see the greatness once again begin. i'm so thrilled with what i have seen. our campaign is 48 days old. and in the last 48 days, i have been all across the four corners of iowa and all points in between. i was born in waterloo and born and raised in water look and cedar falls. in this wonderful part of our state, what i saw were reasonable fair-minded people who loved me and poured themselves into me and that's the voice that i learned growing up. common sense and moral values. in a set the tone. i tell people everything i needed to know in life, i learned in iowa.

my mother and father taught us to always love iowa. they said be grateful that you are from iowa. iowa is the breadbasket of the world. we feed millions of people from iowa. be grateful. i have always been grateful that i am iowan. i believe it is time we have an iowan in the white house. and in the last 40 days, as i have been everywhere from spencer to storm lake to you name it, we have been there and ames as well, as we have been all over the state, what we have seen is a restoration of that dream and you have restored in me my faith in america.

i see on the television destruction. all across the country, but not in iowa. it doesn't matter what -- what city i'm in. i see happy, confident, optimistic people, the crops are growing and we have a wonderful season and people are more energized than ever before because they know we can do this. they know if we stick together, that this will happen. they know we can secure the promise of the future for our children. how do i know that? because i have seen all across iowa wonderful people who believe this. they believe that life is precious. and that from conception until natural death, we stand for human life. that's iowa. >> michele bachmann, who has spent a lot of time and money in iowa, and we have heard that in case you missed it, she is from

iowa. she was born in iowa and was raised in iowa. i guess you can't blame her for bringing that up repeatedly to this all-iowa crowd. you have to be a sit seven iowa, resident of iowa, to vote in the straw poll today. but keith and susan, her style is so different from anyone else we have seen so far. are we seeing the differences between a lot about style at this stage of the game? not that much about substance? >> i think that's what is concerning a lot of people about her, frankly, the substance. when they see some of the substance, they are even more concerned. she's really -- she has to offer up real ideas and i mean, a great speech. she gets votes in a straw poll. but she really needs to offer up more. i think like we said earlier with perry coming in, he is overshadowing everything. when you compare that speech to perry's today, there is no contest. >> it is interesting because when -- there was all this buzz about whether or not sarah palin

would get into the -- the mantra of every democratic strategist i ever had at this desk was it would be so great if sarah palin -- we would love it. the answer to our prayers would be if sarah palin was the republican nominee. are they saying that about michele bachmann? >> i don't think so as much because at first the idea was that michele bachmann was the poor woman's or poor man's sarah palin. now almost looks like sarah palin is the poor man or poor woman's michele bachmann. she has become the substantive candidate, vis-a-vis sarah palin. sarah palin is walking around off of her bus tour and trying to get attention. it makes her look like she's second fiddle. i think michele bachmann replaced her. not as a national figure but certainly as a substantive political figure. i think that susan is right. she has a lot of explaining to do, so to speak. she will have to do that later on if she can make it past this test in iowa. >> one by that which she and rick perry are similar, though, are they are both conservative.

they certainly are to the right and the question is there room enough in this race for both of them and if so, for how long? >> until we see the numbers from their fund-raising show up. a good fund-raiser. so is perry. we will see where the money is going. that will tell you a lot of who -- who will become the real true conservative candidate because where the money is where is candidates are. >> i think lit go to perry. he's a proven fund-raiser and will raise a lot of money. michele bachmann has a lot of energy. perry will be a fund-raising juggernaut and will be even -- give mitt romney a race for his money. >> no accident she mentioned she was only in this race for 48 days. she's trying to lower expectations. >> and she is from iowa. >> she is from iowa. >> we did catch that part of it, did we? republican strategist susan delrcio and keith boykin. msnbc contributor. thanks to both of you. it will be inning.

we are 2 1/2 hours away from knowing the results of the iowa straw poll. don't forget tomorrow morning congressman michele bachmann will be david gregory's guest on a special edition of "meet the press" live from iowa. we will be back with more.

here is a question for you. the ames straw poll political event or state fair? you have food station, have you the air conditioned tents. it actually seems pretty fun but there is a lot on the line. we are going to break down how it all works and why and how this event came to carry such significance. rick perry officially jumping into the race but can he really win over voters? perdue perfect portions is great on busy nights. five chicken breasts individually wrapped, so you can use what you want and put the rest in the refrigerator. and the best part is it only takes 10 minutes. it's my go-to meal.

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welcome back to msnbc. i'm chris jansing. we have wall-to-wall coverage on ames, iowa, straw poll. this is the first major test of the 2012 republican presidential

candidates. now, michele bachmann just wrapped up her speech. we had already heard speech necessary the last couple of hours from rick santorum, ron paul, tim pawlenty. we are going to be hearing from theodore and her man cain before voting ends today at 5:00 eastern time. then it should take about an hour for us to get the results. most of the gop candidates are in iowa. texas governor rick perry was in south carolina where he officially launched his campaign this afternoon. >> 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. >> carrie dann is covering perry's campaign. tell us about his opening speech and what's the theme we expect him to see him carrying forward

into the early days of his campaign. >> hi there. it was a very crowded event and it was in a somewhat smallish room. 350 seats. over 100 credential media to hear him. focused a lot, heard that title. time to get america working again. focused a lot on -- big a buzz. americans without full-time jobs. it is a matter of economic disaster. a big motivation. he spoke about his background. introducing himself to the primary voters. he grew up in a very, very small texas town. he said his mother hand-sewn his clothes.

>> all right. carrie dann. thank you so much. we apologize, we are having trouble with that connection. carrie dann will continue to report from the pair grain. we will have a lot more from ames, iowa, and straw poll coming up. we wanted to get you caught up on other top news stories today. british authorities have charged a man with robbing a malaysian student during the student riots in london last week. reese donovan who allegedly took part in the incident that was watched by millions of people on the internet was denied bail today. police have arrested more than 1,600 people during the four days of rioting, arson and looting. new information today from pakistan where the u.s. embassy confirmed that an american contractor has been kidnapped. pakistani police say he was abducted by gunmen from his house in the pakistani city of lahore near the indiana border. the u.s. embassy confirmed the contractor's name was warren

weinstein but would not provide additional information. a new court ruling will force casey anthony to go back to florida. after she was acquitted last month of murdering her daughter, she was released from jail and since then casey has been out of the public view but she had an earlier conviction for writing bad checks. and the judge in charge of her trial says anthony must be in florida to serve one year's probation. today is the 50th anniversary of the building of the berlin wall in 1961. east germ er the wall came down in 1989. parts of that wall now form a museum in berlin to remind people of the history from the cold war. life on the links keeps getting worse for tiger woods. after shooting a 77 thursday at and 73 yesterday, the former number one golfer in the world has failed to advance at the pga championship. it is tiger's third missed cut at major championship and his

seventh overall as a pro. he has not won a major tournament since george w. bush was president. how things change. we have been talking a lot about the ames straw poll today. what you may be wondering how this whole thing became such a kiev for gop hopefuls. we have your straw poll 101. keep it here. we are back in three minutes. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. so, why would you let something like erectile dysfunction get in your way? isn't it time you talked to your doctor about viagra? 20 million men already have. with every age comes responsibility. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects may include headache, flushing,

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a name you may not know thadeus mcconnor who is also in this race. also participating in this straw poll, let's take a listen for a little bit to hear what he has to say. >> that is why i have no doubt that you recognize the future is not big government. it is self-government. and that you will seize the opportunity to undo so much of

the damage that has been done under the obama administration and under the past democratic majority in the congress. this is very simply why. we don't live in a period of time where you can -- your laptop computer seek sources of information from anywhere you wish and use that information to make a decision. we know that in a black period in the palm -- blackberry in a t palm of your hand you can communicate around the world, talk to friends, family members, or to make a purchase. we understand that today in your lives you are being empowered to make your own decisions to extend undreamt in human

history. yet, we see one entity that refuses to recognize the reality around us. and that is big government. today we live in what is known as -- >> you may not have ever heard his name but you certainly heard the theme that he is espousing and we heard from it every one of the candidates so far today. anti-big government, repeal health care. only one of the candidates remains and that's herman cain. he will be coming up in a half hour or so. the closing in an hour and 15 minutes of the voting. and we will find out who wins this consequential straw poll. the newest member meantime of the republican presidential field is nowhere near ames, e iowa. he announced his candidacy in south carolina. while perry is not on the ballot, some people want to make his presence known in ame, among them is bob schuman, chair of americans for rick perry.

good afternoon, good to see you. what brings you there and why are you supporting rick perry? >> well, two different questions. what brought us here was to make an impact on the straw poll. we because perry was not an announced candidate we don't have a position in here and don't have a tent on the grounds. then wouldn't let have a ten in the parking lot. we are here with a lot of volunteers and trying to talk to as many people as we can about keeping an open mind about perry, wait until he gets up here and wait until you hear what he has to say. we think you will be won over. what attract me to rick perry, he is a fiscal and social conservative. the number of jobs he created in texas while governor compared to what's happening in the rest of the country is astronomical. we need jobs in this country. that was a big attraction for me getting involved in the campaign. >> i'm sure you heard some of the criticism that the jobses e- jobs he created are low-paying jobs. it has come at big eggs pence, a quarter of texans, largest

number in the country, have no health care. they are 47 ds in the country on spending on education. they are last in the country. in terms of toxic chemicals, keeping toxic chemicals out of the air and out of the water. do you think that brand of conservatism that has those types of results will resonate large largely throughout the country and not just in more conservative south? >> no. i think they will. i think people understand that -- big government hasn't worked. stimulus packages have not worked. smaller government, lower taxes, less regulation, and -- better set of laws so people have certainty when they start businesses and -- will resonate. i think right now that's what we care about, creating jobs and creating opportunity for all americans. >> i think you have probably heard the comparisons to michele bachmann because they are two of

the most conservatives in this race. they also vote to be honest, to have a lot of charisma and generated a lot of enthusiasm. and excitement. so why would you tell someone to vote for rick perry instead of michele bachmann? >> well, you know, that's a tough one. just from a person am point of view, i think what michele bachmann did for the country in the 2010 cycle was fantastic. i would love to see her stay in the house. i would love to see her go back on the campaign trail and help republicans and increase their majority of the house. pick up the senate and -- stay in the house and get more experience under her belt and then maybe run for president at the end of perry's second term. >> you think maybe she doesn't have quite the amount of experience you would be comfortable with at this point. >> well, you know, we have a president that served two years in the senate and was a community organizer or something before that. i don't think that he had the credentials to be president. i think it is showing and so i think we want to go with the guy, with the best philosophy and best resume and in my view that's rick perry. >> bob schuman with the

americans for rick perry who are in ames, iowa, today. . the candidate is not announced today in south carolina. thank you for being with us and have fun out there. >> thank you. >> we are hearing on the ground that the longest lines have been outside the tent of michele bachmann. we are going to continue to watch everything very closely and we will have more from ames. ease of cooking is very important to me. perdue perfect portions is great on busy nights. five chicken breasts individually wrapped, so you can use what you want and put the rest in the refrigerator. and the best part is it only takes 10 minutes.

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this is pretty much what it is going to look like throughout the afternoon there in ame, iowa. a whole parade of the candidates who have had ten minutes to give their speeches there. this is somebody you prob down there recognize. a congressman from michigan, thadeus. one more candidate after him. if you watch the debate you saw him. the businessman herman cain. bit what we are watching for are the result we expect to get at 6:00 eastern time because if nothing else, we believe that there will be some -- of the results of the iowa straw poll.

there will be some people who just won't perform well enough to get the kind of support, financial support, particularly they are going the need to continue their campaigns. let's talk about how this whole thing works. jennifer jacobs is the chief political writer for the "des moines register." she joins us live. this confuse as lot of people. we have a little over an hour to go. people are voting now. explain to us what's been going on. how has this poll worked? >> as soon as people get here you can come on this campus without paying any money. so everyone wanders around and checks out the candidate tents. then after they listen to some speeches on the main floor, then they decide who they are going to vote for. and then they have to have a ticket which is a $30 ticket. and then they go inside of a building and they vote in -- just a regular official voting machine equipment. and then they get a mark on that your finger with indelible ink to show they voted.

then they are all done. >> would it be fair to say you cover this differently than you cover any other election have you ever done in your life? because the reporters i have talked to have been running around from tent to tent just to see how long the lines are. >> yes. exactly. everyone is trying to get a try for who has the most people here. it seems like ron paul's tent is very energetic. it's very congested. but then so is michele bachmann's tent. yeah, this is so difficult to cover. it's hard to get a good feel for what's happening. although, unlike a regular election, it's in a condensed location. you can get a sense from walking to the different tents. but it's a random sample. it's not representative of io iowans. it's not a large number compared to people registered to vote in the state. it's nontraditional. >> your paper had an editorial today. for some of the reasons you just said, they said basically the straw poll's fun, but let's not make too much of it.

having said that, there are hundreds of credentialed media. there are candidates who have spent millions of dollars and countless hours going literally to every county, every corner of the state, why are they doing that if it's mostly just for fun? >> reporter: there's so much at stake for such a contest that is not a random straw poll. those in the top two will get a boost, they'll get buzz from this. they'll be in the headlines. iowans will think they have a campaign that can be successful. so it does give those campaigns what they really crave. but if you fall below kind of the top three or -- it could be the kiss of death. >> all right. good to see you, jennifer jacobs. and the countdown continues. little more than an hour of voting, little more than -- yeah, an hour of voting to go. you know, mitt romney leads the national polls in a lot of state surveys for the chance to challenge president obama. the former massachusetts governor is among the nine gop

contenders on the ballot. but he's not in the state today. he is not really organized there the way he did four years ago when he won. nbc news campaign ed -- that's kate of "the new york times." we'll go to her later. garrett, there you are. what's the candidate doing there today? >> reporter: governor romney's not doing anything here today. he's off. he was campaigning yesterday in manchester. he made an appearance at a house party. a number of candidates have appeared there, it's an opportunity to give his defense of corporations are people remark. he's off the trail, and the campaign is seeing him --not seeing him at the straw poll.

>> why? he won four years ago. >> reporter: a lot of the candidates energize today to win the straw poll. ultimately it didn't pay off. mike huckabee surged at the last minute. this time with the governor's name recognition high, they're going to sit back and let the straw poll vote play out as it will. then they say they're going to start campaigning much more aggressively in iowa in the coming weeks and months to try to win the votes that really count toward getting the nomination, the ones passed at the caucuses in january. >> as i do every day, i google all the candidates' names and see what the buzz is. the buzz on mitt romney today was, frankly, how rich he is because he did file financial disclosure forms. reportedly worth -- and it's hard when you're this rich to get a real sense of it, but i think his campaign would agree between $190 million and $250 million. is there any concern that his wealth in this period and going

to the corporations are people, too, comment, that his wealth will make him look disconnected from the everyday concerns of the average people? >> reporter: well, there's a possibility of that, chris. it sort of depends on how many of the other candidates decide to make a big deal out of this. you saw at the debate when governor pawlenty made the joke that he would only mow one acre of governor romney's lawn if governor romney won governor pawlenty's prop bet there. we'll have to see who decides to make an issue out of it. remember, governor romney's running as the candidate who is a former ceo, the guy who knows the most about business and jobs. the fact that he was successful could play into the strategy. >> garrett, always good to see you, thank you very much. mitt romney's not the only candidate avoiding iowa. utah's governor, john huntsman, bypassed the state completely. like romney, spending friday in new hampshire.

he's skipping out on ames. a smart political strategy? let's bring in "new york times" national correspondent kate zernicki. maybe at 6:00, there will be people who wish they opted out so they could say i wasn't there, of course i wouldn't get the votes. who has the most to win or lose? >> i think certainly tim pawlenty has the most. i think he's the one everyone's watching to see if he comes in in the top two, top three really. but to keep his campaign going. so much is happening outside of yesterday -- we have rick perry, john huntsman, with a lot of buzz in national polls although most republicans don't know who he is. i think pawlenty's the one everyone's going to watch, and bachmann. i would say looking at bach well, how she does against ron paul because he's very organized there. >> let's talk about how rick perry's entry into the race changes the dynamic. >> i think the money race. perry is such a fundraiser, that's where the issue is. he going to steal all the fundraising from other people.

>> we've seen so many republicans sitting back and waiting to see. we've talked about the fact that they may be waiting for a star to emerge or front-runner that they can wrap their arm around. mitt romney has not seemed always to be it right now. how long do you think they can afford to sit on the sidelines, these big money contributors and bundlers type people? >> when you pending it, when the new year starts, that's when iowa and new hampshire are. and after this south carolina and super tuesday. they have to line up as early as this fall. >> the headline tomorrow, will it be who won, who lost, or some combination of both? >> i think it will be a combination. certainly who won is what we're watching. >> yeah, kate zernicke. an hour and four minutes-ish. thank you very much. the excitement will build in iowa as the results start to pour in. we'll head live to ames bringing you all the breaking news and analysis. i'm chris jansing. andrea mitchell is up next. so keep it here on msnbc.

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