Politics | Sarah Palin Palin in Iowa, Sparking 2012 Speculation Former governor could be gearing up for presidential bid By Nick McMaster Posted Sep 17, 2010 4:49 PM CDT Copied Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin gestures while addressing the National Quartet Convention in Louisville, Ky., Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke) Sarah Palin will deliver the keynote address at the Iowa Republican Party's Ronald Reagan Dinner tonight, an engagement widely seen as a possible step toward a 2012 presidential bid, the Washington Post reports. The dinner is an early hurdle for prospective GOP candidates, and Palin's influence is at a high point; whether establishment or tea party, candidates with her endorsement largely prevailed in Tuesday's primaries. Palin has cast herself as a bridge between renegade and establishment conservatives—she tweeted this week, "Independents/GOP: focus. The weakened Leftist party is the pt; it allows unified effort 2 reign in Fed govt's overreach&protect Constitution." She may have the zeitgeist, but Palin still has work to do if she is to mount a credible run; a recent Iowa poll showed her running fourth among possible Republican presidential candidates. Click here for more on Sarah Palin. Read These Next Harry Potter's Emma Watson just lost her license. The country of Eswatini is about to be on your radar. Union says 17 immigration court judges have been fired since Friday. Trump reportedly asked Zelensky if Ukraine could strike Moscow. Report an error