In reporting last week that Rep. Michele Bachmann appears poised to enter the GOP presidential sweepstakes, I opined that she could be a significant player in 2012 -- if only for her formidable fundraising prowess. Um,
yeah:
Rep. Michele Bachmann , R-Minn., raised a combined total of $2.2 million in the first quarter of 2011, outgaining presumed presidential contender Mitt Romney who raised $1.9 million over the same period.
Bachmann's political action committee, MichelePAC, raised $1.7 million while her Congressional reelection fund took in $500,000. The funds raised for her Congressional reelection could be transferred to any federal campaign, including one for president.
A pretty impressive haul. Bachmann has been spending a good deal of time in Iowa, where she'll have to make a splash next winter to seize the momentum to catapult her candidacy into other crucial early state primaries. Another Minnesotan to whom that last sentence applies: Tim Pawlenty.
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