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WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — On the morning before Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses, Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota said she was counting on a “miracle” to resurrect her faltering campaign. On the morning after, she acknowledged that it was beyond saving.

Mrs. Bachmann said on Wednesday morning that she would not continue her campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

“Last night, the people of Iowa spoke with a very clear voice, and so I have decided to stand aside,” Mrs. Bachmann said at a news conference in West Des Moines.

In her comments, she continued her criticism of President Obama and his policies, particularly his health care program and the Dodd-Frank bill that provided more oversight of the financial industry. “I will continue to fight to defeat the president’s agenda of socialism,” she said.

Surrounded by her family, Mrs. Bachmann invoked her faith frequently. “I look forward to the next chapter in God’s plan,” she said. “He has one for each of us, you know.”

But two questions about Mrs. Bachmann’s future remain.

She did not say whether she would endorse one of her former rivals in the bid for the Republican nomination or whether she would run for re-election in Congress. She suspended her House campaign after announcing her presidential bid and her Sixth Congressional District in Minnesota could be redrawn to her disadvantage.

Her spokeswoman, Alice Stewart, said that Mrs. Bachmann “just made up her mind about this this morning,” and that “she hasn’t made a decision” about her next steps but is not ruling out an endorsement.

Ms. Stewart said Mrs. Bachmann conferred with her family and a few aides after her disappointing showing on Tuesday evening.

“She prayed about it, thought about it all night long,” Ms. Stewart said. “As of this morning, she just decided that it wasn’t prudent” to continue.

Although Mrs. Bachmann did not have enough money to aggressively compete in the Iowa advertising contest, Ms. Stewart said the campaign was “in perfect shape to go” financially, noting that the candidate had a full slate of events booked in South Carolina and had planned to participate in weekend debates in New Hampshire.

Ms. Stewart also rejected suggestions that Mrs. Bachmann’s decision was swayed by recent calls from Sarah Palin and evangelical leaders for her to drop out of the race and join forces with a different social conservative. Nonetheless, the success of Rick Santorum showed that “the faith community did coalesce around one person,” Ms. Stewart said.

Mrs. Bachmann, who faced criticism for flubbing historical facts and making statements that seemed to be based on inaccurate information, such as a claim that the HPV vaccine can lead to mental retardation, said she had no regrets. “I didn’t tell you what the polls said they wanted to hear. I didn’t tell you what I knew to be false. I didn’t try to spin you.”

She would not take questions as she left the Marriott in West Des Moines, not far from her Iowa headquarters in Urbandale. She shared a long hug with Ms. Stewart and embraced other supporters before climbing back onto her campaign bus. “Thank you, thank you everyone,” she yelled. “It’s been a wonderful ride.”

Of the six candidates who seriously competed in the Iowa caucuses, Mrs. Bachmann came in last, winning only 5 percent of the vote. She had signaled that she would stay in the race during a speech to supporters on Tuesday night saying, “There are many more chapters to be written on our path to the nomination.”

That path, Mrs. Bachmann said, was through South Carolina, where she planned to go directly after the Iowa caucuses in the hopes that her message of social conservatism and Tea Party-infused populism would resonate.

The rise and fall of Mrs. Bachmann’s campaign foretold similar narratives for the other Republicans who sought to run as alternatives to Mitt Romney. Her passion and forceful debate performances helped her win the Iowa straw poll in late summer, only to have it overshadowed by Gov. Rick Perry’s entry into the race. Mr. Perry, who placed fifth, said late Tuesday night that he would return to Texas to “assess” his candidacy, but he is apparently not dropping out, at least for now.