Bachmann's Iowa Chair Defects to Ron Paul

With the Iowa caucuses just days away, it's not looking good for Michele Bachmann: Her Iowa campaign chair has defected to Ron Paul. Kent Sorenson, an Iowa state senator, says it was a tough decision, but he felt obligated to defend Paul against the Republican establishment, the Washington Post reports. "We're going to take Ron Paul all the way to the White House," he told a Paul rally just a few hours after appearing at a Bachmann rally where he declined to speak, citing dental work.

"I still maintain an immense amount of respect for Michele," Sorenson said in a statement. "But the fact is, there is a clear top tier in the race for the Republican nomination for president, both here in Iowa and nationally. Ron Paul is easily the most conservative of this group." Bachmann told reporters that Sorenson left her campaign because Ron Paul's people offered him a large sum of money. The Paul campaign says it is not paying Sorenson. (More Ron Paul 2012 stories.)