Ron Paul Camp: Iowa Straw Poll Shows He's a 'Serious Contender'

While U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas came in second in the Iowa Republican straw poll held in Ames on Saturday, his campaign is celebrating the results, noting that their candidate came less than 1 percent behind winner U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota.

Dr. Paul is surging in this race, and todays results show the strength of his grass-roots support and top-notch organization, said Jesse Benton, a spokesman for Paul who placed fifth in Ames back in 2007. These straw poll results, our growing poll numbers and our strong fundraising show that our message is resonating with Iowans and Americans everywhere. Our message was the same in 2007 as it is in now in 2011, but this time we have quadrupled our support. That means our message is spreading, our support is surging, and people are taking notice.

We are uniting a coalition of longtime supporters, fiscal conservatives, constitutional conservatives, independents, tea party and anti-big government activists to take on the Washington establishment, added Benton. Today, Ron Paul has emerged as a top-tier candidate and is a serious contender to win the Republican nomination and the presidency.