DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Six likely Republican presidential candidates are participating in a bus tour of Iowa that kicks off Monday.

The three-week event is sponsored by the Iowa Tea Party and includes appearances by Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, former CEO Herman Cain, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

The tour begins in Council Bluffs and will include education sessions for Iowa’s leadoff presidential caucuses and the August straw poll. The event’s sponsors also include conservative issue advocacy groups.

Candidates will join the tour and make appearances along the way before it wraps up in Des Moines on July 2. Stops include Sioux City, Spencer, Mason City, Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Davenport, Burlington, Marshalltown, Ames, Fort Dodge, Carroll, Indianola, Lamoni, Ottumwa and Oskaloosa.

Tags: politics