Bachmann raises $1 million in July

Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-Minn.) reelection campaign reported raising $1 million in July. 

“I’m grateful for the support I’ve received so far and I know if we can sustain this grassroots movement, we will be victorious in the fall,” Bachmann said in a statement Tuesday. “Minnesotans are tired of the same empty rhetoric out of Washington, and they know my time is genuinely focused on keeping America strong and growing.”

{mosads}Bachmann’s campaign manager said the fundraising numbers showed that the congresswoman has strong support within her own state.

“This incredible outpouring of support demonstrates the trust Minnesotans have placed in Representative Bachmann,” Bachmann campaign manager Chase Kroll said in a statement. “They know Michele fights for them, and for the values they hold dear. While we are grateful for last month’s fundraising, we can not slow our efforts on the campaign. We still have a radical, liberal, self-funding opponent who has demonstrated his willingness to pour huge sums into this race.”

Over that same period, Bachmann and four other Republican members of Congress sent letters to inspectors general of five separate government agencies saying those agencies had been infiltrated by people with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and other “radical” organizations. In particular, they singled at Huma Abedin, who is a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the wife of Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.).

The letters drew strong criticism from Republicans and Democrats in Congress. In response, Bachmann said the letters had been misinterpreted by critics and the press.

On Monday, Bachmann said she hoped to work with Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the only Muslim member of Congress, on fighting Medicaid fraud. Bachmann has accused Ellison too of having ties to radical groups. Her desire to work with Ellison appears to be an olive branch of sorts. A spokesman for Bachmann on Tuesday said she wanted to work with the entire Minnesota delegation.

“Congresswoman Bachmann is very concerned about fraud in Minnesota’s Medicaid system, and she hopes to work with every member of the Minnesota delegation to stop fraud in its tracks and make sure taxpayer dollars are not going to waste,” Bachmann Communications Director Dan Kotman said in a statement.

Kotman did not say why Bachmann wanted to work with Ellison in particular.