Bachmann made history by winning the 2011 Iowa straw poll, becoming the first Republican woman to win such a poll, caucus or primary, and gained early support before her presidential bid collapsed.
The referendum was narrowly defeated; it was his first loss at the polls since becoming President, and it reinvigorated the political opposition.
He laid out his own vision for Ukip, claiming it could up its 13 per cent share in the polls by becoming an "optimistic, sunshine, smiley, socially liberal, unapologetically free market party".
Romney's failure to win more support from women voters is the over-riding reason for his failure to overtake Barack Obama in the opinion polls since becoming the GOP nominee.
In Saxony-Anhalt in the former east Germany, the party with links to the far-right Pegida movement had gained 24.4%, according to initial exit polls, thus becoming the second-biggest party behind the CDU.
* Herman Cain, the former chief executive of Godfather's Pizza, has been on a roller coaster in the polls — quickly becoming a conservative favorite on the strength of his "9-9-9″ tax plan, only to stumble in the wake of sexual harassment charges and flubs on foreign policy questions.
And with just 48 days left until the election, polls are becoming more stable and predictive as more undecided voters make up their minds.
This is her second grand coalition government; the first, from 2005 to 2009, proved to be a disaster for the Social Democrats, who were punished at the polls for becoming too closely identified with Merkel's CDU.
It is widely regarded as the best and most accurate of any roller coaster poll available due to its ranking algorithm which prevents the poll from becoming a popularity contest.
