(Newser)
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In a nail-biter of a close race, Michele Bachmann appears to have overcome a strong challenger and held onto her Minnesota House seat, the St. Cloud Times reports. The Tea Partier was ahead of hotel executive Jim Graves by 50.5% to 49.3% with 98% of precincts reporting when the AP called the race in the early morning hours. But an automatic recount will trigger if the final difference is less than half of a percentage point.
"It’s so tight right now that we could very well see that automatic recount," says Adam Graves, Jim Graves' campaign manager. "And we haven’t really thought beyond that." Bachmann's camp massively outspent her Democratic challenger, who tapped into his personal fortune to add more than $500,000 to his own coffers. In more Tea Party news, Freshman Florida Rep. Allen West's reelection bid is too close to call as he trailed Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy by fewer than 3,000 votes, reports Politico.
