Michele Bachmann Back in Iowa Politics with State Senate Endorsement

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) re-entered Iowa politics this week when she endorsed an Iowa Senate candidate.

Jeff Mullen, pastor of in Waukee and Republican state Senate candidate, received the endorsement of former GOP presidential candidate Bachmann on Wednesday, according to the Des Moines Register.

The Minnesota congresswoman was frequently in Iowa last fall and winter as she campaigned for the GOP presidential nomination. She had a less-than-warm welcome during a stop in Iowa City last December.  and other locals came to protest Bachmann's positions on social issues.

And Bachmann wasn't very popular in Iowa City on caucus night, either. While the one-time Iowa caucus front-runner earned 5 percent state-wide, she only garnered about 2.5 percent of Johnson County caucus-goers' support.

In an email blast to her political supporters this week, Bachmann called Mullen a “conservative you can count on” who would be “a champion for our shared conservative principles” if elected, the Register said.

The message plays up Mullen’s anti-abortion, pro-gun rights and small-government policy views, and implores supporters to give “generously” to his campaign.

Mullen hosted Bachmann during the caucus campaign at Point of Grace Church and appeared with her regularly on the campaign trail.

He’s running for the newly drawn 22^nd District Senate seat, which includes Waukee, Clive and the Dallas County portion of West Des Moines. He will face Pat Ward, a two-term Republican from Clive, in the June 5 primary.

Look back at some Bachmann coverage from Iowa:

Yale Cohn's interview with the self-described gay robot that heckled Bachmann: http://patv.tv/blog/2012/01/26/talking-with-kembrew-mcleod/