Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota formally opened her candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination here on Monday, presenting herself as a forceful conservative who will confront the party’s establishment and not compromise on principles to capture grassroots enthusiasm that has risen up in opposition to President Obama.
“I seek the presidency not for vanity, but because America is at a crucial moment,” Ms. Bachmann said. “I believe that we must make a bold choice if we are to secure the promise of our future.”
Ms. Bachmann made the announcement in her childhood home of Waterloo, where she hopes that her Iowa roots will provide an advantage over her rivals in the state that opens the Republican nominating contest early next year. She introduced herself as a candidate with broad appeal, acknowledging the spirit of Tea Party activists, but pointing out that she hails from a long line of Democrats.
“Our problems don’t have an identity of party, they are problems created by both parties,” Ms. Bachmann said. “Americans agree that our country is in peril today and we must act with urgency to save it. Americans aren’t interested in affiliation. They are interested in solutions and leadership that will tell the truth.”
She made her candidacy official on the steps of the Snowden House, a historic brick building in downtown Waterloo, which she noted once housed the Waterloo Women’s Club. Her message to a crowd of about 200 people on a sun-splashed morning was accompanied by an occasional chorus of honking horns, from trucks passing by on a nearby highway.
Ms. Bachmann, whose ascent from a little-known member of Congress to a nationally-known figure in the Tea Party movement, suddenly faces higher expectations in Iowa. Her high name recognition helped propel her to a statistical tie with Mitt Romney in a weekend Iowa Poll from the Des Moines Register, the year’s first survey of voters who say they plan to attend the Republican caucuses early next year that open the presidential nominating season.
Her challenge, her advisers acknowledge, will be to build a sophisticated campaign organization – matching the enthusiasm that she has inspired – to succeed in the Iowa caucuses. She is counting on a strong showing in the Iowa Straw Poll in August, a traditional test of party strength, to be viewed as a serious contender for the nomination.
Her three-state announcement tour also includes stops in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
“We can’t afford four more years of Barack Obama,” Ms. Bachmann said, focusing her speech on the president and not the Republican rivals whom she will challenge to become the party’s nominee.
Her candidacy shakes up the race in Iowa, particularly for Tim Pawlenty, a former governor of Minnesota, who has been campaigning aggressively in the state for more than a year, and has struggled to gain the excitement that surrounds Ms. Bachmann. But many Republican activists here say that they have not yet made a decision and are waiting to find the strongest nominee to take on Mr. Obama.
“I seek the presidency not for vanity, but because America is at a crucial moment,” Ms. Bachmann said. “I believe that we must make a bold choice if we are to secure the promise of our future.”
Ms. Bachmann made the announcement in her childhood home of Waterloo, where she hopes that her Iowa roots will provide an advantage over her rivals in the state that opens the Republican nominating contest early next year. She introduced herself as a candidate with broad appeal, acknowledging the spirit of Tea Party activists, but pointing out that she hails from a long line of Democrats.
“Our problems don’t have an identity of party, they are problems created by both parties,” Ms. Bachmann said. “Americans agree that our country is in peril today and we must act with urgency to save it. Americans aren’t interested in affiliation. They are interested in solutions and leadership that will tell the truth.”
She made her candidacy official on the steps of the Snowden House, a historic brick building in downtown Waterloo, which she noted once housed the Waterloo Women’s Club. Her message to a crowd of about 200 people on a sun-splashed morning was accompanied by an occasional chorus of honking horns, from trucks passing by on a nearby highway.
Her challenge, her advisers acknowledge, will be to build a sophisticated campaign organization – matching the enthusiasm that she has inspired – to succeed in the Iowa caucuses. She is counting on a strong showing in the Iowa Straw Poll in August, a traditional test of party strength, to be viewed as a serious contender for the nomination.
Her three-state announcement tour also includes stops in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
“We can’t afford four more years of Barack Obama,” Ms. Bachmann said, focusing her speech on the president and not the Republican rivals whom she will challenge to become the party’s nominee.
Her candidacy shakes up the race in Iowa, particularly for Tim Pawlenty, a former governor of Minnesota, who has been campaigning aggressively in the state for more than a year, and has struggled to gain the excitement that surrounds Ms. Bachmann. But many Republican activists here say that they have not yet made a decision and are waiting to find the strongest nominee to take on Mr. Obama.
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