De Republikeinse presidentiële kandidaten reageerde op het feit dat de afgevaardigde van Minnesota, Michele Bachmann, uit de race stapte voor de Republikeinse presidentiële nominatie na een teleurstellende zesde plaats in de caucus in Iowa.

Mitt Romney zei: “Ann and I salute Congresswoman Bachmann. She ran a campaign to advance the principles of limited government that I hold dear. Michele is a friend and a strong competitor. Her tenacity on the campaign trail and her fierce intelligence in the debates have left me no doubt that, as advertised, she does indeed have a titanium spine. Michele inspires millions of Americans by the way she has lived her life, raised her family and served her country. With leaders of her caliber coming up the ranks, the future of the Republican Party – and the future of the country – is bright.”

De voormalige voorzitter van het Huis van Afgevaardigden, Newt Gingrich, zei: “She was courageous and she had – I hope she will either run for re-election or will run for statewide office. She is a considerable talent. She has great courage. I agreed with many of her issues. She was a leader in opposing Obamacare. She is a leader in trying to repeal Dodd-Frank. These are issues that she and I were in total agreement on. She did a great job in one of the debates in pointing out how disastrously misinformed Ron Paul’s foreign policy is. I thought she was superb in walking through the reality of terrorism at a time when Congressman Paul seems to have a fantasy foreign policy that is enormously dangerous to American national security.”

“Michele Bachmann brought an energetic and passionate voice to this race, and she should be proud of the ambitious solutions she offered to reduce our national debt and rebuild our economy. I wish Michele and her family nothing but the best, and know she will continue to be a powerful force in the fight to defeat Barack Obama and restore America’s greatness”, aldus de voormalige gouverneur van Utah, Jon Huntsman.