Palin bus tour to roll into Iowa this week before straw poll

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) is set to crash the GOP presidential campaign this week in Iowa with the resumption of her bus tour.

“We accept with gratefulness an invitation to meet folks at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines this week,” SarahPAC stated in a message on its website. “The heartland is perfect territory for more of the One Nation Tour as we put forth efforts to revitalize the fundamental restoration of America by highlighting our nation’s heart, history, and founding principles.”

A Palin spokesman confirmed that the 2008 vice presidential nominee would head to the Iowa State Fair while several former Republican presidential candidates gather for a key straw poll in Ames.

The trip could undercut attention for Saturday’s straw poll, in which such GOP candidates as Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.), Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty are hoping to gain momentum. 

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) is expected to signal that he’s running for president Saturday with an appearance in South Carolina. Perry will travel to Iowa on Sunday.

Perry’s trip had been seen as a possible tactic to upstage the Ames straw poll. 

Palin, a conservative star who has been coy about her presidential intentions, will only stoke speculation about her future with the trip, her second to Iowa this summer.

It also marks the revival of the bus tour, which the former Alaska governor launched earlier this summer. That first tour garnered considerable attention, especially for its stop in New Hampshire just as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) was launching his campaign in the state.

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