Politics & Government
Presidential Candidate Bachmann to Visit Sarasota Sunday
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is chair and founder of the House Tea Party Caucus.
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) brings tea-party fever to Sarasota on Sunday. The 2012 presidential hopeful is scheduled appear at the Sahib Temple, 600 N. Beneva Rd. (near Fruitville Road), at 4 p.m.
Bachmann was elected to Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District in November 2006, the first Republican woman to represent the state. She previously served in the Minnesota Senate since 2000.
At last weekend's Iowa straw poll for Republican presidential candidates, Bachmann emerged as the top vote-getter, taking the lead in a crowded field. She was invited to Sarasota by Joe Gruters, the county's Republican Party chairman.
Find out what's happening in Sarasotafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Gruters is trying to bring all the Republican candidates to Sarasota. So far Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman and Rick Santorum have appeared. Gruters is is talking with the campaigns of Ron Paul, Rick Perry and Herman Cain.
Florida is a key state in the race for nomination and then election to the White House. Sarasota plays a key role in fundraising, although the Bachmann visit is not billed as a fundraiser.
Find out what's happening in Sarasotafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Minnesota congresswoman is positioning herself as one of the most conservative of the Republican candidates. She is stanchly anti-abortion, opposes right-to-work legislation and is a founder of the Tea Party Caucus in the U.S. House.
People wishing to see Bachmann must register online and fill out a short questionaire. They will then be asked to print out an invitation that will get them through the door.
