UPDATE: Bachmann Ends Presidential Campaign After Iowa Loss

A prayerful Michele Bachmann ended her presidential campaign Wednesday morning, just hours after a crushing sixth-place finish in the Iowa Caucuses.

The Iowa native failed to win even one of the state’s 99 counties, earning only 5 percent of the votes Tuesday.

At a morning press conference at the , Bachmann said she will not continue her campaign but has no regrets.

"Last night the people of Iowa spoke with a clear voice; I have decided to stand aside. I believe we must rally around the party nominee," she said. "I will be forever grateful to this state and its people for launching us on this path."

She did not take questions from the media after giving her speech this morning, and did not say which of the remaining GOP contenders she would support.

The Minnesota congresswoman had hoped to repeat Mike Huckabee’s surprise performance four years ago when he gathered the support of Iowa’s influential evangelical Christians. Those voters went with former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, whose 11th-hour surge placed him only 8 votes behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Bachmann placed fifth in Black Hawk County, where she lived as a child.

Bachmann’s campaign began its downward spiral shortly after in August and Rick Perry joined the race. She was hurt by a series of misstatements, including proclaiming during one debate that it was dangerous to give the vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV) to girls before they are sexually active to prevent cervical cancer later in life.

Later, despite constant replaying of her remarks, she denied what she had said. 

Despite touting her Iowa roots, Bachmann failed to gain any real support in Iowa or the other early Republican voting states.

After Bachmann’s team resigned in New Hampshire, she all but dissolved her efforts to compete there. found her running fifth in New Hampshire. The most recent polls in South Carolina showed Bachmann running third or fourth over the past month.

Bachmann's withdrawal speech focused on how the enactment of President Barack Obama's health-care program, which she labeled Obamacare, galvanized her to seek the presidential nomination.

"I ran because I realized 2012 was our last chance, our only chance, to repeal Obamacare and Dodd-Frank," Bachmann said. "I ran because I believed that since day one Barack Obama's policies are a threat to the foundation of the republic. I ran to secure the promise of our children’s future."

The Tea Party leader said she will continue to fight for the issues that matter to her and her supporters: energy production, to protect life, traditional marriage, and religious liberty, among others.

“I will continue fighting to defeat the president’s agenda of socialism,” she said. “A politician I never have been nor ever hope to be.”

Find a video of Bachmann's withdrawal speech on YouTube courtesy of IowaPolitics.com.

What do you make of the Caucus finishes and Bachmann's decision? Tell us in the comments below.