The purpose, she said in an interview before the meeting began, was to gauge the presidential candidate preferences of Iowa tea party groups before she formally endorses a candidate.

“I will be endorsing somebody before the Iowa caucus, and as my top three tend to rotate, I wanted to get the input of my supporters,” she said…

When asked about specific candidates, O’Donnell said her favorites changed frequently. When pressed about a comment referenced in the letter from the activists who boycotted her meeting, in which she said her personal leanings were 70 percent in favor of Mitt Romney, she said the former Massachusetts governor was not getting a “fair shake.”

“I don’t think that people are really looking at him the way they should,” she said.”Within the Republican Party, I don’t think that he’s getting enough credit.”