Salon.com > Jim Graves

How to oust Michele Bachmann from Congress

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:43:00 +0000

Democrat Jim Graves was feeling good as he sat down for an interview with Salon in Washington Monday, the same day his campaign released a poll showing him two points ahead of Rep. Michele Bachmann, whom he narrowly lost to in 2012.

This time around, he'll start with higher-name ID -- "I think we started off last time around at 18 percent and now we're pushing 75 to 80 percent" -- and more support from national Democrats, who were initially skeptical about his chances and didn't get heavily involved until mid-October. "I don't think they jumped in at all," Graves quipped of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, before quickly excusing them in a typical Minnesota-nice fashion: "There was lower-hanging fruit, I don't blame them."

Poll shows Bachmann trailing in 2014 reelection race

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:27:00 +0000

According to a new poll by the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., is in for another tough reelection fight in the 2014 midterms.

The poll, which surveyed 500 voters in May, shows that Bachmann's Democratic challenger Jim Graves has a slight lead, at 47-45 percent -- within the poll's 4.4 percent margin of error.

Bachmann's 2012 presidential campaign is currently under investigation by the FBI, the Office of Congressional Ethics, the FEC and an Iowa state Senate ethics committee over alleged campaign finance violations.

Bachmann is already buying up airtime for 2014

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:23:00 +0000

Eighteen months before the 2014 midterm elections, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., is already buying TV ads for her re-election campaign.

From the National Journal:

Beginning Thursday, Bachmann's campaign will air 31 30-second spots on KMSP, a local Fox affiliate, for $14,565 over the course of 12 days, according to the filing. A Democratic source tracking the buy said Bachmann's total TV reservation across all channels was $85,000. The Fox contract lists Bachmann's buyer as Crossroads Media, an Alexandria-based firm that counts Bachmann among their clients. Crossroads would not confirm the buy, say if time had been purchased on other stations as well, or describe the contents of the advertising; the firm cited a company policy against talking to the media. Operatives with connections to Bachmann would not confirm the buy.

Bachmann, who is facing a host of ethics investigations related to her 2012 presidential run, only narrowly beat out her Democratic opponent Jim Graves in 2012. Graves has said he will run again.

“This could be a career ender for Michele Bachmann”

Thu, 02 May 2013 19:20:00 +0000

With a special investigator soon to be appointed by the chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, the ethics cloud hovering over Rep. Michele Bachmann could quickly become a major problem for the Tea Party hero, experts tell Salon.

“This is very serious," said Craig Holman, a government ethics lobbyist at liberal-leaning watchdog group Public Citizen. "It’s not Watergate, or at least not yet, but these are a series of allegations that are each serious on their own, and when you put them all together, this could be a career ender for Michele Bachmann."

Ken Boehm, chairman of the conservative-leaning National Legal and Policy Center, told Salon that we should wait to see what investigators find -- indeed, no wrongdoing has been reported so far -- though he acknowledged the escalating scrutiny could be a major headache for the congresswoman down the line.

Rematch for Bachmann

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 17:55:00 +0000

Jim Graves, the Democratic hotel magnate who fought Rep. Michele Bachmann to within 4,500 votes last year, announced today that he's gearing up to challenge the firebrand conservative again in 2014.

“These days Congress is all about and scoring political points rather than actually solving problems and Minnesota’s 6th District -- my home -- is losing out because of that more than anywhere. I’m not interested in celebrity, only in solutions,” Graves said in a press release. “As a businessman who has balanced budgets and created jobs, I’m running to work with both sides to find ways to balance the budget, keep our promises to seniors, create jobs and strengthen the middle class.”

National Dems boost Bachmann challenger

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Muslim Brotherhood agents must have infiltrated the campaign arm of House Democrats, because the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced today that it’s giving a boost to the Dem candidate running against Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann. Just nine months after she ended a surprisingly competitive presidential bid, the infamous Muslim-hunting Tea Party congresswoman is now clinging to her House seat in one of the most watched House races in the country. Her opponent, hotel magnate Jim Graves, the first serious challenger Bachmann has faced in years, has closed on Bachmann in the polls and has earned the confidence of the DCCC, which announced today that it’s adding the Democrat to its Red-to-Blue program, a group of top-tier candidates wh0 can expect “financial, communications, grassroots, and strategic support."

Anti-Islam, pro-Bachmann ad kind of backfires

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 22:07:00 +0000

Michele Bachmann has been on a rather intense anti-Islam tear recently, fearmongering about Muslim Brotherhood infiltration of the government. Recently, she's touted the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya as proof of her conspiracy theories.

One group of Bachmann supporters, the National Republican Trust PAC, responded in stride, running an ad that attacks Bachmann opponent Jim Graves for calling her comments "outrageous." The ad ties Graves' comments to footage from the Middle East during the attack.

The NRTPAC got a little bit of attention in 2010 for running an ad that parroted pretty much every conservative talking point about Obama ever, tying him to everyone from ACORN to the New Black Panther Party.

Poll: Bachmann in danger

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Despite her national fan base and a massive war chest, Rep. Michele Bachmann may be in more danger than most suspect, with a new poll showing her lead diminished to just 2 points. Independent voters have swung against her by nearly 20 points in just two months, from a 4 percent advantage to a 15 point disadvantage. The internal poll, conducted by Democratic pollsters Greenberg Quinlan Rosner at the behest of Democrat Jim Graves’ campaign and shared with Salon, shows that Bachmann’s favorability rating has tumbled since their last survey in mid-June, and finds Graves gaining ground with independents as his name recognition grows.

Overall, the poll shows Bachmann leading Graves 48-46 percent, within the margin of error. The race has moved significantly among independents, with a 20-point net shift toward Graves, from a 41-45 percent disadvantage in June to a 52-37 percent lead now. Among independents, Bachmann's favorability rating has slipped 4 points while her unfavorability rating has jumped 7 points. Overall, she’s viewed mostly negatively. Among all voters, 40 percent give her a positive job rating, while a sizable 57 percent give her a negative one, with a plurality of 35 percent giving the most negative answer possible -- “poor.”