Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann announced Wednesday she has concluded her US presidential campaign, becoming the first Republican candidate to leave the race after failing to see favorable results in Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses.

Bachmann, an Iowa native, was unable to win a single county and wound up earning just five percent of the vote for a sixth place finish in the state.

"Last night the people of Iowa spoke with a very clear voice, and so I have decided to stand aside," she said at a news conference in Iowa on Wednesday.

Bachmann stressed the importance of a solid party behind whoever would be named the nominee. She vowed to continue to fight President Barack Obama and what she called his "socialist policies," AP said in a related report.

Bachmann was once the front-runner among Republican nominees. Earlier, she won the Iowa straw poll, which to the party was an unofficial early indicator of voters' preferences. But her campaign eventually suffered from staffing issues and trailed in fund-raising. With last night's turnout of votes Mitt Romney is now poised to challenge President Obama, but the GOP has not officially declared its presidential candidate.

Bachmann did not openly support a candidate during her speech, but she said:

"I believe that we must rally around the person that our country and our party and our people select to be that standard bearer."

There are speculations that Rick Santorum, another conservative, is expected to earn the support of Bachmann's supporters now that she is out of the race.