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Election 101: Ten facts about Michele Bachmann and her presidential bid

With her announcement Monday that she is entering the presidential race, Michele Bachmann has given the tea party a candidate to call its own. Is she capable of running a campaign that can withstand the rigors and scrutiny of the presidential process?

6. How will she fund her campaign?

Shannon Stapleton/REUTERS
Michelle Bachmann talks to the audience after the end of the first New Hampshire debate of the 2012 campaign at St. Anselms College in Manchester, N.H., Monday.

  • By Liz Marlantes Correspondent

At the end of March, her congressional reelection campaign reported $2.8 million in cash (all of which could be funneled into a presidential run), while her leadership PAC had another $300,000 in cash at the end of April.

Significantly, roughly three-quarters of Bachmann’s donations have been from contributors who gave $200 or less – and as Barack Obama demonstrated in 2008, lots of small donors can lead to lots of money. On the other hand, Bachmann doesn’t have a network of big-ticket donors – such as Mitt Romney has – to rely on when the going gets tough.

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