Bachmann files for New Hampshire primary
Less than a week after her five-person campaign staff in New Hampshire quit en mass, Rep. Michele Bachmann has filed her paperwork to compete in the state's first-in-the-nation presidential primary by mail.
Bachmann is the only major candidate to file by mail so far. Most of the Republican presidential candidates -- former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Utah Gov. John Huntsman, and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania-- filed their paperwork in person. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and Georgia businessman Herman Cain both sent campaign staff in their place. Texas Gov. Rick Perry has yet to file, according to the New Hampshire secretary of state's office.
Karen Testerman, who was recently an unpaid adviser to the campaign, told National Journal/CBS News that she was asked by Bachmann's national campaign manager, Keith Nahigian, on Thursday to file the Minnesota congresswoman's paperwork in New Hampshire. But Testerman said she informed Nahigian that she was unauthorized to do so because she was not a member of the paid staff.
On Friday, all five of Bachmann's paid New Hampshire staffers announced they had quit the campaign, citing the candidate's lack of focus on the state and complaining of unprofessional conduct by her national staff. The group's press release about the resignations listed Testerman as the point of contact.
The Bachmann campaign later tried to discredit the press release and Testerman. Nahigian said in a statement, "The unauthorized news release was sent by a person who doesn't even work for the campaign and has never had authority to speak on behalf of the campaign. We are not responding to comments made by a person who was not even a staff member in New Hampshire. Our focus is on Iowa."
Two of the staff members have since joined rival campaigns, and Bachmann's campaign, stuck at single digits in the polls, continues to struggle to remain viable.
Bachmann on Wednesday announced a three-day swing through eastern Iowa that will begin on Friday and include two church addresses. While this strategy may help rally support among Iowa's socially conservative and evangelical voters, who dominate the first-in-the-nation caucus, her lack of staff and organization in New Hampshire would leave her poorly positioned to capitalize on any bump she gets from a strong showing at the Iowa caucus.
