Bachmann rakes in unprecedented $5.4 million since July

Bachmann rakes in unprecedented $5.4 million since July

Eric Roper
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
October 13, 2010

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann's campaign has raised about $5.4 million since July, campaign spokesman Sergio Gor said Tuesday night.

That's more than any Minnesota congressional candidate has raised in an entire election -- Bachmann took in $3.5 million in 2008. The $5 million boost brings Bachmann's fundraising total this cycle to just about $10 million.

During the last three-month filing period this spring, Bachmann raised $1.7 million.

The Sixth District is already the most expensive congressional race in the country. Bachmann's DFL opponent, Tarryl Clark, has not yet reported her fundraising stats but had a "record setting quarter with over 44,000 individual donors," said Clark spokeswoman Carrie Lucking.

Gor said the Bachmann campaign still has more than $3.4 million cash on hand. The exact number will be available along with the full FEC report, which is due out later this week.

Dave Levinthal, a spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based watchdog group that tracks campaign finance, said the sum is staggering considering the average winner of a House race raised $1.4 million in the entire 2008 cycle.

"The people who watch and care about national politics are going probably do a double take when they see this number," Levinthal said.

Bachmann and Clark have collectively spent at least $1 million (though likely much more) on television ads alone. Money is also being spent on telemarketing, consulting, direct mail, online ads, travel, web development and other campaign expenses.

Clark trailed Bachmann by nine points in the latest poll of the race, conducted by SurveyUSA in September. SurveyUSA has conducted two polls in the Sixth this year, both of which relied on automated questions and targeted only landline phones.

A very hated woman here in Minnesota. Liberals here are just incensed by this. It's comical reading the comments section after any story written about her.

TexasBlue wrote:A very hated woman here in Minnesota. Liberals here are just incensed by this. It's comical reading the comments section after any story written about her.

Anything that gets Minnesota liberals knickers in a twist is a good thing in my book!

GO BACHMANN!

When i ask Democrats around here in my town why they hate her, they tell me that she's a religious right wing nut. But they can't actually tell me why they don't like her. Just that she's a religious right wing nut.

TexasBlue wrote:When i ask Democrats around here in my town why they hate her, they tell me that she's a religious right wing nut. But they can't actually tell me why they don't like her. Just that she's a religious right wing nut.

Can you say myrmidon?

lol

just sayin...