U.S.? ?Rep.? ?Michele Bachmann,? ?R-Minn.,? ?announced at the end of May that she will not run for another term in Congress -- but opened the door to running for other offices,? ?including another bid for the presidency.?
Bachmann appeared on Sean Hannitys show on Fox News on Thursday in her first interview since announcing she would be leaving Congress in? ?2014.? ?While she slammed President Barack Obama and looked back at her time in Congress,? ?Bachmann insisted she would remain active in public life.?
Im not retiring,? ?Im not going silent,? ?Bachmann told Hannity.? ?I may run for another office,? ?that could happen.? ?While insisting she had? ?no definitive plan right now,? ?Bachmann added? ?Im wide open and looking.?
After being elected to Congress in? ?2006,? ?Bachmann became one of the leading conservatives in Congress and a favorite of the tea party movement.? ?She ran for the Republican presidential nomination in? ?2012? ?and started off strongly by focusing on Iowa,? ?a state where she had spent some of her childhood.? ?But a series of gaffes haunted Bachmann.? ?Even though she won the Iowa Republican straw poll in Ames,? ?Bachmanns victory was overshadowed by the news that Gov.? ?Rick Perry of Texas was entering the contest.? ?Bachmanns star diminished as conservatives turned to a procession of other candidates -- Perry,? ?Herman Cain,? ?Newt Gingrich and finally Rick Santorum -- as an alternative to Mitt Romney.? ?In January,? ?Bachmann won only ?5? ?percent of the vote in the Iowa caucus and quickly dropped out of the race after that disappointing showing.?
Despite flopping in the? ?2012? ?presidential contest,? ?Bachmann did not rule out another presidential bid when Hannity asked her about it.? "?I'm not taking anything off of the table,?" ?Bachmann said,? ?adding? ?that's certainly not my No. 1 item that I'm looking at right now either.? ?I'm in the game for the long haul.?
Still,? ?a new poll offers some harsh reality for any plans Bachmann might have for a second presidential bid.? ?A survey from YouGov finds Bachmann is upside down, with only? ?33? ?percent viewing her as favorable and? ?40? ?percent as unfavorable.? ?Only? ?17? ?percent of those surveyed think Bachmann has helped the Republicans while? ?34? ?percent think she hurt the GOP.?
When matched up against Hillary Clinton,? ?the favorite for the Democratic nod in? ?2016,? ?Bachmann trails badly,? ?taking only? ?31? ?percent, while the Democrat gets? ?47? ?percent.? ?Clinton does far better against Bachmann than other Republicans included in the poll.? ?The poll of? ?1,000? ?voters was taken May? ?29-?30? ?and had a margin of error of? ?+/-? ?3.6? ?percent.
Tallahassee freelance political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this piece exclusively for Sunshine State News.?
