Graves signals another bid against Bachmann

Posted at 1:21 PM on March 4, 2013 by Brett Neely (1 Comments)
Filed under: U.S. House

WASHINGTON - After coming close to unseating Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, Democrat Jim Graves appears to be inching toward another run against the state's most conservative member of Congress.

In an email to supporters on Monday, Graves noted that Bachmann voted against the bipartisan Violence Against Women Act last week (she was the only one of the state's eight member U.S. House delegation to vote no), and he condemned the budget standoff between Republicans and Democrats in Washington.

"I know that the work we started last year, well, it isn't over," Graves wrote, in a signal that his electoral ambitions may not have passed.

Before taking on Bachmann in 2012, Graves made a fortune in the hotel industry. He contributed heavily to his own campaign.

Last month, Graves told the St. Cloud Times that he will decide by April 1 whether to run again.

Bachmann represents the 6th Congressional District, the state's most conservative district. Voters there backed Republican Mitt Romney over President Barack Obama by a 56 to 41 margin, but Bachmann prevailed over Graves by just 1.2 percent, a little more than 4,200 votes.

Comments (1)

It should be noted that Ms. Bachmann's 1.2% win was produced by outspending Mr. Graves 10 to 1! He spent $1.5 million of $2 million raised-- she spent $22.7 million out of $23 million raised.

Had their campaign's finances been identical, Graves would have won handily.
http://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary.php?id=MN06&cycle=2012

Posted by Maria Jette | March 5, 2013 10:13 AM

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