2012

Bachmann Raises Over $2M

In first three months of the year.

Could Michele Bachmann be formidable? Pundits were skeptical when the Tea Partier formed an exploratory committee for a 2012 presidential run, but they might change their tune now that the Minnesota congresswoman reported Friday that she raised more than $2 million in political contributions over the first 90 days of 2011. The sum exceeds the $1.8 million that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney raised in the first quarter, and comes on the heels of Bachmann raising an impressive $13.5 million for her 2010 congressional campaign—far and away the largest amount by any House challenger or incumbent for a single election. Although it will prove nearly impossible for any GOP challenger to out-raise President Obama, the more a candidate raises early on, the more they look like a viable candidate in 2012.