Tales from the Trail

Second-term Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who started the “Tea Party Caucus” in the House of Representatives this summer, says her “high-profile” congressional race is being targeted by some very high-profile Democrats ahead of  the Nov. 2 election.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has set her sights on ousting her from the congressional seat,  Bachmann said. The outspoken Republican is a social conservative and is known for her strong Christian faith.  

“I’ve been one of Speaker Pelosi’s top targets to defeat this fall,” Bachmann said on NBC’s “Today” show. ”President (Bill) Clinton came in, he was campaigning against me. In a couple of weeks Speaker Pelosi will be in Minnesota as will President Obama. Mine is a very high-profile race, and she’s trying to do everything she can to defeat me.”

Bachmann led Democrat Tarryl Clark by 9 points in the race for Minnesota’s 6th congressional district in a mid-September poll, according to Real Clear Politics.

Bachmann  shrugged off questions about whether the Tea Party was stepping into social issues like gay rights after a controversy erupted this week over remarks by Carl Paladino, Republican candidate for New York governor who is backed by the conservative movement.

“I think really that isn’t the issue that we’re focusing on in this election,” she said. “The issue is jobs.”

She targeted her criticism at the Democrats she said were targeting her.

“The Tea Party movement I think has been very focused because from the very beginning they’ve been concerned about the overreach of the liberals like Speaker Pelosi and President Obama and Congress – what they’ve been doing by spending too much, taxing too much and adding too much of deficits, because it’s clearly led to job losses in our country,” Bachmann said.

Photo credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque(Bachmann at healthcare rally Nov. 5, 2009)