Voters take to the polls Tuesday night for Iowa caucus

IOWA -- GOP presidential candidates hoping to take on Barack Obama as America's leader have been touring the Hawkeye state for months, and Tuesday night, they'll find out how well they did when Iowa voters head to the polls as part of the 2012 Iowa caucus. We've been hearing a lot from the candidates leading up to this caucus, and Tuesday night, we'll hear from the voters.

Three candidates attended a Tuesday morning event with school students called "Rock the Caucus." Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann says U.S. policy must be more business-friendly. "I want to abolish the tax code, and do away with it, and put in its place a pro-growth code, so that you can wildly succeed with your future and your plans," Bachmann told the students Tuesday.

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has surged recently in the polls, and Tuesday, he urged voters to hold candidates accountable for political promises. "Hold those candidates to the standards of solving the intractable problems of an exploding federal government, an exploding debt that's going to crush your economic future," Santorum said Tuesday.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul's libertarian philosophy appeals to young voters, and he received, by far, the most enthusiastic response from the students Tuesday. "The purpose of the Constitution is to restrain the federal government, not to restrain you as an individual," Paul said.

19-year-old Hank Theil says he plans to attend his first caucus Tuesday night. "It's pretty cool to have all of the news sources here in such a small state like Iowa. To have such a big impact in a huge election, it's just really cool to be a part of," Theil said.

Not all students were as enthusiastic. Will Elderege says he would have been better off in his economics class than listening to political talking points about the economy. "It's kind of an ironic waste of time, considering that they're pulling us out of school. I'm actually in Econ right now, so we would be covering this anyway," Elderege said.

GOP front-runner Mitt Romney was in Des Moines Tuesday morning. Newt Gingrich campaigned in the eastern part of the state, and Texas Governor Rick Perry hopes to have a decent showing to keep his campaign alive.

President Obama is set to address Democrats in Iowa via a videoconference during the caucuses.

FOX6's Mike Lowe will have complete coverage from the Iowa caucus. We welcome you to "Like" him on Facebook, and "Follow" him on Twitter for all the latest updates.