By Susan Ferrechio - Washington Examiner
As the Republican presidential contenders head to Florida this week for a critical debate and straw poll Rep. Michele Bachmann R-Minn. will be looking for ways to jolt her campaign back into the campaigns top tier.
Its been weeks since Bachmanns poll numbers slipped into single digits her support usurped by the entrance of Texas Gov. Rick Perry into the already crowded GOP field. Perry announced his candidacy the day Bachmann won the Iowa straw poll last month a move many believe stole the Minnesota congresswomans thunder and any chance for her to build a durable lead.
Her victory at the Iowa straw poll may have been the apex of her campaign GOP strategist Jim Ellis said. Perry really has become the favorite of the conservative wing of the party. That has created a kind of vacuum for her.
Bachmann isnt participating in the Florida straw poll a move that baffled conservatives because the 3500 delegates who will pick the polls winner will also be influential in shaping the outcome of Floridas critical GOP primary.
Over the past three decades straw poll winners have gone on to win the GOP nomination or the presidency.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in second place in most polls also is skipping Floridas straw poll. But he still is expected to make a strong showing and could place as high as second.
Expectations are much lower for Bachmann. Delegates who will be participating in the straw poll told The Washington Examiner they expect Bachmann to score in the low single digits.
Straw polls are in the eye of the beholder cautioned Peter Brown assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. Sometimes they tell you a lot sometimes they dont.
Bachmann will participate in Thursdays debate and other events in Orlando with conservative groups including the Conservative Political Action Committee convention so no one should count her out said University of South Florida political science professor Susan MacManus.
All those delegates are going to be there so she will have saturated them for two days MacManus said. Shes an excellent retail politician. There are a lot of retail politics possibilities for her there.
Six recent polls show Bachmann with an average of 7.5 percent a far cry from the 19 points she commanded in June or the 13 points she garnered in a survey taken just after she won the Iowa straw poll.
Perrys entry into the race isnt the sole cause of Bachmann fading fortunes political experts and GOP operatives said. A string of self-inflicted gaffes have made it difficult for voters to take her seriously they said.
Bachmann has confused historical facts along the campaign trail and has claimed she could fix the economy very quickly and lower gasoline prices to $2 per gallon.
Her most recent misstep was attacking Perry after the last debate for requiring Texas parents to vaccinate their daughters against the sexually transmitted HPV virus. The day after the debate Bachmann claimed she had talked to a woman whose daughter suffered from mental retardation after being vaccinated.
Between history facts and two-dollar gasoline she makes very bizarre statements sometimes said Doug Guetzloe co-founder of the Florida Tea Party. I dont think she has common sense enough to be elected president or win the nomination.
