(Reuters) – Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann narrowly won the first big test of the 2012 White House race on Saturday, muscling aside five other contenders in the Iowa straw poll.

Bachmann, a U.S. congresswoman, narrowly beat Ron Paul in the nonbinding mock election, a traditional early gauge of strength in the state that holds the first nominating contest in the Republican race to select a challenger to President Barack Obama next year.