When then-Secretary of War John C. Calhoun ran for the presidency back in 1824, his supporters hoped for a political alliance between his native South Carolina and Pennsylvania to prevail against the Virginia-New York axis that dominated presidential elections at the start of the 19th century. While Calhoun had to settle for the vice presidency, now, almost 200 years later, one Republican presidential hopeful is looking to recreate the old alliance.

A poll unveiled Tuesday from Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm with connections to prominent Democrats, found Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, who has been in the race for less than two weeks, leading the Republican pack in Iowa, home of the first caucus.

Perry topped the poll with 22 percent, followed by former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts with 19 percent. U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, who won the Iowa straw poll in Ames earlier in the month, placed third with 18 percent followed by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who placed second in Ames, with 16 percent.

The U.S. State Department last week released the 2010 edition of their reports on the state sponsors of terrorism and included the Castro regime in Cuba on the list. This marks almost three decades of Cuba being recognized as a state sponsor of terror.

The State Department released a full report on state sponsors of terrorism Thursday. Besides communist Cuba, included on the list were the nations of Iran, Sudan and Syria.

In his first week as a presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry made a big impression on Republican voters across the nation.