Michele Bachmann: Loved by the Tea Party. Babies? Not so much.

Michele Bachmann

Representing Minnesota’s 6th District

Let’s be honest.  Despite the events in Libya, the ongoing budget debate in Congress, and the Carmelo Anthony trade to the New York Knicks (the Nuggets got the better end of the deal btw), the only important news is the emerging list of potential Presidential hopefuls from the Republican Party for the 2012 election.  One of the most interesting characters – one you probably know of but not much about – is Michele Bachmann, U.S. Representative for Minnesota’s 6^th District.  Unfortunately for Mrs. Bachmann, and her Presidential aspirations, the only president to come from the U.S. House was James Garfield and, to be frank, it didn’t end well for him.  But despite history squarely not in her favor Rep. Bachmann does have one important thing going for her; she is the Member of the Week.

Representing the 6^th District of Minnesota since 2007, Michelle Bachmann is the first Republican woman to represent the state and is only the third woman to do so.  Despite being a darling of conservatives, Bachmann was a devoted Democrat early in life and worked, along with her husband, on President Jimmy Carter’s campaign.  Ironically, it was during her time working on Carter’s campaign that Bachmann became disappointed with his liberal-minded approach to social policy and ultimately decided to join the Republican Party.

Michele Bachmann’s meteoric rise to national prominence began in 2000 when she defeated 18-year incumbent Gary Laidig to secure the GOP endorsement for State Senator for Minnesota District 56.  She went on to win in the General Election and, after redistricting, won reelection in 2002.  It was not until the 2006 House Race that Bachmann’s electoral strategy became defined.  Running for the seat left vacant when incumbent Rep. Mark Kennedy decided to run for Senate, Bachmann used her appeal to fundamentalist Christians and conservative voters to not only earn strong support from national Republican leadership but also garner significant campaign donations.  This blueprint for electoral victory was exemplified during her 2010 reelection campaign in which she used her support amongst the emerging Tea Party movement and conservative voters to raise an unprecedented $13.4 million.  Her ability to fundraise is even more astounding when you take into account that the average House member raised about $1 million over the same election cycle.

Notwithstanding her established support base and fundraising ability, Bachmann is still considered a wild card within the Republican Party.  Fearing that she represents the message of a strong fringe group within the party and taking into account her well-documented media faux pas (a recent example), Republican leadership has overlooked Bachmann for senior party positions.

Regardless of what you may think of her, Representative Michele Bachmann will continue to dominate headlines as we get closer to 2012.  Her beliefs and stances on certain issues will undoubtedly polarize voters but the ability to overcome overwhelming odds might prove decisive in the end.

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Did you enjoy our profile on Michele Bachmann, check out our other members of the week.