Palin brings in crowd for Iowa GOP

DES MOINES, Iowa, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was a big draw at Iowa's Ronald Reagan Dinner, attracting the event's largest crowd ever, organizers said.

In her speech Friday, Palin urged moderate Republicans to get behind the party's candidates in November and criticized President Barack Obama and the news media, The Washington Post reported. She attacked Obama's foreign policy as well as his domestic initiatives.

"It's the voters who will stop these leftist policies," she said. "The voters will stop this fundamental transformation of America that's not good for America. It's the patriots who will restore America."

Palin said if Republicans seriously want to win control of Congress "it's time to unite."

This week, Palin scored a victory when Christine O'Donnell, the candidate she supported for U.S. Senate in Delaware's Republican primary, defeated Rep. Mike Castle, a former governor who has won 11 statewide elections.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose relationship with her fellow Alaskan has always been chilly, announced Friday she will wage a write-in campaign in an effort to keep her seat after being ousted in the primary.

The Ronald Reagan Dinner is a major fundraiser for the Iowa Republican Party.