Michele Bachmann isn't known as a "serious" member of the House. In her four-and-a-half years in Congress, she hasn't crafted any significant legislation or chaired any committees, and while she maintains a constant presence in the media, it's more spectacle than anything else; she says outrageous things, and the media covers them.
However, now that Bachmann is running for president (her official announcement is scheduled for next week), she's working to prove her bona fides. For her 2010 reelection campaign the congresswoman raised more than $13 million, with more than 55 percent coming from small individual donations, and the rest coming from larger donors. Next to Speaker John Boehner, Bachmann is the House’s top fundraiser, with more cash on hand than any Republican other than Paul Ryan.
Between this, her Minnesota base and strong evangelical ties, Bachmann is well-placed to win the Iowa caucuses. The more pressing questions are whether she's competitive in the post-Iowa primaries, and whether she's a viable alternative to Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty. To prove that she is, Bachmann has worked to recruit a few high-profile names to her campaign. Ed Rollins, campaign manager for Ronald Reagan's 1984 reelection campaign (and most recently Mike Huckabee's 2008 presidential bid), joined her campaign several weeks ago. In addition, Bachmann has hired Brett O'Donnell, who handled debate prep for George Bush in 2004, Alice Stewart, who served as communications director for Huckabee in 2008, and Becki Donatelli, who handled online fundraising for John McCain in 2008.
As Beltway insiders with decades of experience with Republican presidential candidates, these hires provide Bachmann with an invaluable resource: credibility. Right-wing candidates like Rick Santorum and Herman Cain have too many problems as candidates to make it to the general election, which makes Bachmann the de facto standard-bearer for Tea Party conservatives in the race. But she struggles to overcome a similar perception, and bringing veteran campaign operatives to her campaign is a signal to elites that she is a viable alternative to them, and to Romney.
Bachmann's fight to earn elite support is ongoing; she was one of three presidential candidates to attend last weekend's Republican Leadership Conference (an event for GOP elites and donors), and as Chris Cilliza reported for the Washington Post yesterday, her team is working to enforce strict message discipline. It's a little too early to make a judgment about Bachmann's chances, but the more she campaigns, the more she's worth watching.
