2012 Watch: Bachmann's Q1 Fundraising Boom

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.