Bachmann: If 'Called,' I'll Run for Franken's Seat

The fiery Christian conservative shared the news with televangelist Jim Bakker
By Josh Gardner,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 2, 2018 6:36 PM CST
Michele Bachmann May Run for Franken's Seat
In this Feb. 21, 2012, file photo, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann gives an interview in Minnesota.   (Glenn Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP, File)

Conservative firebrand Michele Bachmann says she's mulling a run for Al Franken's Senate seat, the Star Tribune reports. The former Minnesota congresswoman, whose controversial remarks helped make her a mainstay in 2012 Republican primary coverage, recently shared the news on The Jim Bakker Show, though she told the televangelist she's not quite ready to announce. "The question is, am I being called to do this now?” she said, per the Washington Post. “I don’t know.” While Bachmann served on the Trump campaign's evangelical advisory council, she's largely been absent from politics since leaving Congress in 2015. However, Franken's official resignation on Tuesday following allegations of sexual misconduct may well bring Bachmann back to the fore.

As a potential candidate, Bachmann already has an opponent in Lt. Gov. Tina Smith, who's been tapped to replace Franken starting Wednesday. Smith has pledged to run in the November special election to replace Franken for the final two years of his term, as has state Sen. Karin Housley, a Republican. Ever the outsider, Bachmann said she also has a foe in the Washington establishment. "It is really tough ... if you are trying to stand for biblical principles in DC," she told Bakker. "The swamp is so toxic." (More Michele Bachmann stories.)

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