With just one week left before Republican voters in Iowa head to Ames for the traditional straw poll that officially kicks off the presidential election season, a new poll from Rasmussen Reports shows a tight contest.

Rasmussen shows pro-life Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota in a virtual tie with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is campaigning on a pro-life platform at 22-21 percent. Rick Perry, the pro-life Texas governor, receives 12 percent of the support of Iowa Republicans in the survey while pro-life Rep. Ron Paul of Texas receives the backing of 16 percent.

Tim Pawlenty, the pro-life former Minnesota governor, is next with 11 percent and no other candidate in the race tops double digits. The poll rounds out with pro-life former Speaker Newt Gingrich getting 5 percent, pro-life businessman Herman Cain at 4 percent, pro-life former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman at 2 percent, and pro-life former Sen. Rick Santorum not measuring 1 percent...

Besieged by financial debt, terrorism, and a multitude of natural disasters, America -- says Texas Governor Rick Perry -- is in the midst of a historic crisis. And for those reasons, he and other Christians will gather in Houston on Saturday for a day of prayer and fasting.

The Texas governor has been under attack from those who think he is merely using the event to bolster his political career. But David Barton, a Christian historian, president of WallBuilders, and of those who will help lead prayer at Saturday's event, insists Governor Perry is not promoting the event to call attention to his presidential prospects.

"He called this event when he was not thinking politics at all," Barton accounts. "When he called this event, he and I had just spoken, and the furthest thing from his mind was anything national. This is just a time to pray"...

A new Gallup poll released today shows pro-life Texas Gov. Rick Perry, should he decide to make a bid for the Republican nomination, is now the strongest candidate against the race’s leader, former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts.

The poll finds Romney at 17 percent and Perry at 15 percent and it has pro-life former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who appears less likely to run, at 12 percent. Michelle Bachmann, the pro-life Minnesota congresswoman, receives 11 percent as does pro-abortion former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who does not appear likely to seek the GOP nomination against pro-abortion President Barack Obama.

Ron Paul, the pro-life Texas congressman, comes in with 8 percent, pro-life businessman and pro-life former Speaker Newt Gingrich each receive 3 percent, and pro-life former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, pro-life former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, and pro-life former Utah Gov.

The big question in the Republican presidential race is whether or not Texas Gov. Rick Perry will throw his name in the hat for the GOP nomination to face pro-abortion president Barack Obama. If he does, Texas pro-life groups give him high marks.

“Governor Rick Perry has always championed the pro-life cause, tirelessly advocating for the sanctity of innocent human life in numerous ways,” Texas Right to Life executive director Elizabeth Graham tells LifeNews.com.

“Governor Perry has worked alongside Texas Right to Life, helping shepherd our pro-life bills and eagerly supporting our measures,” Graham said. “As governor of Texas, he has intervened to stop anti-life legislation on a number of occasions, and he has helped clear obstacles when necessary”...

Governor Rick Perry's prayer rally scheduled for August 6 has drawn criticism ranging from atheist groups to liberal faith leaders across the country. During a recent conference call with spiritual leaders, however, organizers insisted there are no underlying political agendas.

With the prayer rally now less than a month away, supporters say they sense the event could be a landmark day. Dubbed "The Response: A Call to Prayer for a Nation in Crisis," more than 6,000 people from around the nation have registered on its website, TheResponseUSA.com.

John Hagee, pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, said he expects to have at least ten bus loads of participants from the church he serves at the event. "We all sense that our nation is going the wrong direction," said Hagee during the conference call, "and only God can bring it back to where it needs to go"...

Texas governor Rick Perry, who is pro-life, is inching closer and closer to announcing he will officially enter the Republican presidential contest. Speculation is running rampant that he will join the crowded field in the next few weeks.

Perry himself addressed the question over the weekend — telling the Des Moines Register newspaper that he is even more likely to run for the GOP nomination against pro-abortion President Barack Obama than he previously indicated.

“I’m not ready to tell you that I’m ready to announce that I’m in,” he said. “But I’m getting more and more comfortable every day that this is what I’ve been called to do”...

While former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney remains the preferred 2012 Republican presidential nominee, three rivals are close behind -- including two who haven’t announced they are running.

In a Fox News poll released Wednesday, Romney received the backing of 18 percent of GOP primary voters. He’s followed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry at 13 percent, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann at 11 percent and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani at 10 percent. Perry and Giuliani have not declared their candidacies.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, also undeclared, is now in single digits at 8 percent support, and Texas Congressman Ron Paul garners the support of 7 percent...

Governor Rick Perry of Texas is said to be significantly closer to launching a run for the Republican nomination for president to be able to take on pro-abortion President Barack Obama.

Perry had been leading against launching a bid for the GOP nomination, but suddenly appeared to be springing towards one in the aftermath of several top political staff and aides to Speaker Newt Gingrich deciding to abandon his presidential campaign yesterday. Some of the aides are former Perry staffers or supporters who are said to be returning to Texas to help the governor prepare plans for a presidential campaign.

According to Matt Lewis of the Daily Caller, a conservative publication, “Two separate and reliable sources in Texas tell me serious preparations are being made for Governor Rick Perry, 61, to seek the Republican nomination for president.

With a number of key GOP candidates dropping out of the race for president, an author and former member of the Reagan administration believes Texas Governor Rick Perry is considering a 2012 GOP run.

Having taken office in December 2000 when his predecessor, George W. Bush resigned to become president, Rick Perry is the longest-serving governor of Texas. And following months of resisting calls to join the race, Perry told reporters last Friday, "I'm going to think about it."

Tom Pauken, who served on Ronald Reagan's White House staff and later became chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, is surprised by the possibility...

Dallas (AP) - Sarah Palin attacked President Barack Obama on Wednesday for his support of abortion rights and for the federal health care overhaul as the former Alaska governor appeared in Texas with another tea party favorite, Gov. Rick Perry.

Palin described Obama as "the most pro-abortion president to occupy the White House" at the Dallas event, which was sponsored by a nonprofit organization that promotes an anti-abortion message. The 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee also said the federal health care law is the "mother of all unfunded mandates" and means federal funding will go toward abortions.

The law walled off federal funds from being used for the procedure, and an executive order signed by Obama just before it passed reaffirmed existing prohibitions on government-financed abortion, but anti-abortion activists argue that neither would actually prevent tax money from being used...