Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann downplayed concerns that her campaign is in decline, as recent polls continue to show waning support for the Minnesota Republican.
Speaking Tuesday, Mr. Bachmann said she remains confident in her chances of winning the Republican presidential nomination, adding that she remains engaged with key Republicans and supporters in Iowa.
“We’re doing exactly what we need to do. We’re here in Iowa, meeting with people, engaging with people, listening to them and talking about what their concerns are,” Ms. Bachmann told reporters during her latest campaign stop in Iowa. “My focus is on turning the economy around and creating jobs, and that’s why we’re here today in Iowa.”
The comment comes as a USA Today/Gallup poll released Tuesday found support for the Minnesota congresswoman had plummeted to 5 percent. Ms. Bachmann, who won the Ames Republican Straw Poll earlier this year, said the latest poll was the result of a fluid race.
The Minnesota Republican downplayed concerns expressed by her former campaign aide Ed Rollins, who noted that Ms. Bachmann would face certain defeat if her campaign failed to win in Iowa. “The game plan was always” to win Iowa, Mr. Rollins said. A win in Iowa, under this strategy, would help propel the candidate into greater fundraising and wins in other states.
“We do not agree. We have sufficient resources to be able to do what we’re doing and that’s to be very competitive in this race,” Ms. Bachmann said. “We’ve been all over the United States, and we intend to compete and go forward.”
“We’re thrilled with how we’re doing,” the Minnesota Republican added.
Traveling through the state on Tuesday, Ms. Bachmann used her latest trip to Iowa to reiterate her message of limited government. Touring a food-processing facility, Ms. Bachmann asserted that a lightened regulatory load would allow employers to spend money on expansion rather than federal compliance.
“That’s part of the problem, the overkill,” Ms. Bachmann told reporters during an appearance in which she posed with huge slabs of beef. “And when they make it complicated, they make it expensive and so then you can no longer stay in business.”
Still, a number of national polls now show former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Texas Republican governor Rick Perry as the clear front-runners for the Republican nomination. A series of polls released over the week now find Texas congressman Ron Paul, long seen as a dark horse candidate, ahead of Ms. Bachmann. A number of political analysts have noted that Mr. Perry has quickly captured Ms. Bachmann’s key demographic of Republicans, a trend that is likely to continue.
