National Dems boost Bachmann challenger

The Democrat running against Rep. Michele Bachmann has earned more help from his party

By Alex Seitz-Wald    Monday, Oct 15, 2012 10:00 AM EDT

To finally get rid of the crazy lady, the conspiracy loud mouth, the stick your over-sized shoe in your mouth muslim brotherhood smear monger. Rah, Rah, Rah, we need new blood in Congress anyway...

 
Mitt Romney and Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., arrive at a campaign stop in Portsmouth, Va., in May. (Credit: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Muslim Brotherhood agents must have infiltrated the campaign arm of House Democrats, because the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced today that it’s giving a boost to the Dem candidate running against Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann. Just nine months after she ended a surprisingly competitive presidential bid, the infamous Muslim-hunting Tea Party congresswoman is now clinging to her House seat in one of the most watched House races in the country. Her opponent, hotel magnate Jim Graves, the first serious challenger Bachmann has faced in years, has closed on Bachmann in the polls and has earned the confidence of the DCCC, which announced today that it’s adding the Democrat to its Red-to-Blue program, a group of top-tier candidates wh0 can expect “financial, communications, grassroots, and strategic support.”
Graves has surpassed ambitious fundraising, organizing and infrastructure goals, which are required to enter the elite group. “Jim has proven his commitment to standing up for the middle class and creating good-paying jobs for Minnesotans,” DCCC Chairman Rep. Steve Israel said in a press release. “During Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s career in Washington, she has been more focused on being a national right-wing celebrity than on delivering for the Minnesota families she represents. Voters are experiencing buyer’s remorse with Congresswoman Bachmann and her relentless desire to put ideology over solutions.”

The DCCC also announced today that it had outraised its Republican counterpart in September and broken a fundraising record for the third quarter. House Democrats are quietly bullish about their prospects, even though most independent analysts still think Democrats have little hope of winning control of the lower chamber.

UPDATE: Graves campaign manager Adam Graves passed along this statement: “The DCCC’s decision to target our race confirms that this election cycle is by far the best shot we’ve ever had to defeat Rep. Bachmann. Her favorability has been in a free fall ever since her failed presidential bid, and she’s facing her toughest opponent yet — a businessman with a record of creating thousands of private sector jobs. Independents are dramatically shifting in our favor — we’re now up 15%.”