Bachmann the Invisible Woman in Minnesota
February 6, 2012 | 6:01 PM
If Michele Bachmann's endorsement was going to matter anywhere, it would be in her home state. But the former presidential candidate has indicated she won't lend her imprimatur to one of her ex-rivals before Minnesota's Republican caucus on Tuesday.
"I think I'm the only one left who hasn't made an endorsement," she said Friday, during an interview on Political Capital with Al Hunt. "I don't know when I will. Not soon. I just haven't made the decision."
She added: "Honestly, I don't think endorsements make a lot of difference, because my goal is really more 40,000 feet. I'm looking at November. I want to make sure our nominee wins."
Her decision to forgo supporting one of the remaining candidates is indicative of Bachmann's relative invisibility this week despite her state's impending caucus. While her fellow Minnesotan, ex-governor Tim Pawlenty, has actively campaigned for Mitt Romney, Bachmann has been almost entirely a non-factor.
It's a dramatic fall for Bachmann, who only six months ago had won the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa and seemed poised to be a major factor in the Republican race. Now, if she has any clout in her home state, she's choosing not to use it.
In fact, the Minnesota lawmaker's biggest announcement last week was her formal announcement that she was seeking re-election in Congress. A few days earlier, she had denied reports she was in talks with the Romney campaign about an endorsement, saying through a spokeswoman the rumors were "completely false."
Perhaps one reason she hasn't endorsed is, despite coming in a distant last place in Iowa, Bachmann still thinks she was the race's best candidate. That's what she said, after all, when asked which candidate is the most conservative of the four left.
"I was," she said. "I was the perfect candidate. I went out there, and America had their chance with the perfect candidate."
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