In an online video Wednesday announcing that she will not seek another term, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) insisted that she wasn’t ducking a potentially competitive re-election bid against Democratic hotel magnate Jim Graves. But Graves, who fell to Bachmann in a close election last year in Minnesota’s sixth congressional district, said the tea party champion rightly anticipated an “uphill battle” ahead.
“This serves to show that even Rep. Bachmann is hearing that Minnesota’s 6th is ready for a new, business-oriented approach,” Graves said in a statement, as quoted by the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “As recent polling indicates, our message is resonating with the people of the 6th District and she recognized that. She must also have recognized that it would be an uphill battle for her going forward. People are eager to be represented by a common-sense business person who understands the economy from the inside out.”
Graves announced last month that he would seek a re-match against Bachmann. A survey released last week by Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling showed him edging Bachmann in a hypothetical matchup.
