Bachmann Campaign Cuts Loose Top Staffers

...in what's widely seen as a way to save money
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 4, 2011 7:39 AM CDT
Bachmann Campaign Cuts Loose Top Staffers
Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., Friday, Sept. 23, 2011.   (AP Photo/Joe Burbank, Pool)

A handful of Michele Bachmann staffers left the campaign last night, most notably pollster Ed Goeas and top adviser Andy Parrish, in a move that’s widely being interpreted as a cost-cutting measure for a cash-strapped campaign. Parrish, who helped lay the groundwork for the campaign in Iowa, will return to Bachmann’s congressional office, as will Bachmann’s scheduler and a deputy press director, the AP reports. Bachmann has reportedly had trouble snagging big-money donors, and the LA Times notes that last week she even asked supporters for "emergency" donations.

But Bachmann insists the departures aren’t a sign of weakness. “This has been in line with our plan all along,” she said last night, according to the Des Moines Register. “This isn’t a shake-up.” Parrish had always intended to shift back to her congressional office, she said. As for Goeas, campaign manager Keith Nahigian tells the New York Times that polling “doesn’t do any good” in caucus states like Iowa. “You have new technology now of identifying your voters. You can call them and go and meet them.” Nahigian himself is a replacement for another recent high-profile departure. (More Michele Bachmann stories.)

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