ABC News says U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann is considering running for president and will confer this month with GOP officials in Iowa about her prospects in that early caucus state.
Citing an unnamed "source close to the three-term congresswoman," the network said in a report Wednesday that Bachmann will hold "multiple meetings to seek advice from political forces there and party elders close to the caucus process before coming to a final decision regarding a potential presidential run."
Bachmann, a Republican who represents Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District, has roots in Iowa, having been born in Waterloo, Iowa. Bachmann also is the headliner at an Iowans for Tax Relief PAC fundraiser Jan. 21 in Des Moines, ABC noted.
Yesterday we posted an update on another conservative stalwart's possible presidential ambitions. Former Senator Rick Santorum said he was "testing the waters." It appears he's finding those waters to be mighty inviting:
THE FIRST 2012 HIRING. Mike Biundo, the veteran Manchester conservative political strategist who guided Frank Guinta's campaigns for mayor of the state's largest city and then for the U.S. House, has been tapped as the first pre-presidential primary staffer by a likely soon-to-be candidate.UPDATE: Here's the full Bachmann story from the homepage.Republican former Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum later today will formally announce that Biundo, 42, will be the state director of Santorum's political action committee, America's Foundation.
Santorum will visit the state for the eighth time in about a year next week.