Republican presidential candidate hopeful Michele Bachmann ended her campaign on January 4, following her distant, sixth place finish in the Iowa caucuses, the Wall Street Journal is reporting. After spending the majority of her time campaigning in Iowa, she placed last among the candidates who competed there. The Minnesota representative drew in just 6,073 votes of the 122,000 cast.
Speaking to her supporters in Des Moines, Machmann said “Last night, the people of Iowa spoke with a very clear voice, and so I have decided to stand aside.” She didn’t say whether she’ll endorse another candidate, but did proclaim that “we must rally around the person that our country and our party and our people select to be that standard-bearer” to defeat President Barack Obama.
Bachmann competed against such fellow candidates as Rick Perry and Rick Santorum, who placed second behind Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor said she was a great candidate, and “we’ll miss her.”
Initially gaining the lead among Iowa Republicans after announcing her candidacy, Bachmann was overshadowed when the better funded Perry entered the race. She brought an experienced adviser, Ed Rollins, a former aide to the Reagan-Bush campaign in 1984 and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who won the Iowa caucuses in 2008, with her. He later left her campaign, saying she was out of money and ideas, and had no substance.
Bachmann chose to run because she’s against Obama’s new health-care law. She also wants to cut federal spending, and wanted to fight for both causes in the White House.
Written by: Karen Benardello
