Ever since Congresswoman Michele Bachmann peaked, winning the Ames straw poll, it has been downhill in the polls, especially after Texas Governor Rick Perry entered the race. Today there are reports out indicating that at least 5 of Bachmann’s paid staff in New Hampshire have tendered resignations from the campaign citing the Congresswoman’s focus solely on the Iowa caucuses.
Report from the Boston Globe:
EXETER, N.H.—Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is losing her New Hampshire staff.
As many as five staffers formally left Bachmann’s campaign this week, two people with direct knowledge of the situation said Friday. They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose internal workings of the campaign.
Bachmann spokeswoman Alice Stewart disputed reports of a staff shakeup, saying: “We have a great team in New Hampshire. We haven’t been notified that anyone’s left the campaign.”
Still, Stewart said that she hadn’t been able to reach the top New Hampshire staff to confirm they were still on board. She said she had reached some junior staffers who didn’t say they were leaving.
Campaign finance reports show that Bachmann, who has fallen in polls and struggled to raise money, had five paid staff in New Hampshire as recently as late September.
The Republican presidential contender has largely ignored the first-in-the-nation primary state in recent months. She has been focused on Iowa and South Carolina, where her social conservative message has more appeal.
The details are still sorting out and we’ll see how her campaign deals with the reports in the coming days. More so than anything, these stories serve as alarm bells for potential donors and will certainly hinder Bachmann’s progress moving forward.
