Michele Bachmann
The Minnesotan who won the 2011 Iowa Republican Party Straw Poll, but finished last in the 2012 Iowa Caucuses is not seeking reelection to congress.
Michele Bachmann made the announcement in a video posted to her website early this morning.
“This decision was not impacted in any way of my former presidential campaign or my former presidential staff,” Bachmann said in the video.
Federal officials are reviewing Bachmann’s campaign spending and the state senator who served as Bachmann’s Iowa campaign chairman is the subject of an Iowa Senate Ethics Committee investigation.
A couple of former Bachmann staffers charge State Senator Kent Sorenson was paid to serve as campaign chairman, which would be a violation of state Senate Ethics rules. Sorenson strongly denies the charge. Bachmann denies any wrongdoing.
“It was clearly understood that compliance with all rules and regulations was an absolutely necessity for my presidential campaign,” she said in the video.
Bachmann narrowly won reelection last November in a Minnesota congressional district considered to be heavily Republican.
By Brent Palm, Minnesota News Network; additional reporting by Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson