Tipsheet

Bachmann Staffer Quits Campaign to Endorse Ron Paul

Well, this is awkward. Hours after quitting his post, Michele Bachmann's Iowa Chair went on to endorse...Ron Paul. From the Washington Post:

Talk about fairweather friends. Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson (R), who was Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann’s state campaign chairman, endorsed Texas Rep. Ron PaulWednesday night.

At a rally in Des Moines, Sorenson told the crowd, “We’re going to take Ron Paul all the way to the White House.”

He did not tell Bachmann of his decision until he was en route to the Paul rally, billed as an event for veterans.

“This is hard,” he said of his decision to leave Bachmann, explaining that he felt obligated to defend Paul against the Republican establishment. He elaborated in a statement, saying he felt Paul was the most conservative candidate who had a realistic shot at defeating former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

In the meantime, the Bachmann camp is claiming that Sorenson was lured over with a large sum of money, something that both he and the Paul campaign are denying. Both are also admitting that Paul did a few favors for Sorenson back in the day. Sounds like the backscratching was finally reciprocated:

Sorenson added that Paul campaigned for him during his state Senate race last year.

“I thought it was my duty to come to his aid, just like he came to my aid during my Senate race, which was a very nasty race,” he said.

...

“Kent is an old friend,” said Paul campaign manager Jesse Benton. “We had talked seriously about it with him for several days. He said he has come to realize that this is a two-person race” and that “Ron is the only conservative alternative to Romney and the establishment status quo.”