Former Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said over the weekend that she is considering running for Senate.
Bachmann, who represented Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District for eight years, said in an interview with “The Jim Bakker Show” that people had urged her to run in 2018 to replace outgoing Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.). She said she is asking God if she should enter the race.
“The question is: Should it be me, should it be now?“ Bachmann said. “But there’s also a price you pay. And the price is bigger than ever because the swamp is so toxic.”
Bachmann retired from Congress in 2014 amid investigations into alleged violations of campaign finance law during her short-lived presidential run in 2012. The former tea party darling was briefly regarded as a serious presidential contender in 2011 after winning the Iowa straw poll, but she quickly flamed out amid low polling numbers and the unexpected victory of former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) in the Iowa caucuses.
In Congress, Bachmann was best known for her crusades against former President Barack Obama, the Affordable Care Act and the IRS. Last year, she served on Donald Trump’s 2016 evangelical campaign advisory board and said God had sent him as a “reprieve” from transgender rights.
“If you’re going against the tide in D.C., if you’re trying to stand for biblical principles, and you stick your head up, the blades come whirring and they try to chop you off,” Bachmann said during the Bakker interview. “We’re trying to be wise. Should we do this? Shouldn’t we do this?”
If she decides to run, Bachmann will most likely face Minnesota Lt. Gov. Tina Smith (D) in a special Senate election scheduled for November. Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D) appointed Smith to the Senate seat being left vacant by Franken, who resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
Smith is set to be sworn in Wednesday.