Former Republican Presidential Candidate and Tea Party Leader U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann endorsed Curt Clawson in Florida’s 19th Congressional District.
Although Clawson’s announcement of the endorsement contained no statement from Bachmann, founder of the House Tea Party Caucus who announced that she would not seek re-election to her Congressional seat in 2014, the candidate did express admiration for the Minnesota congresswoman.
“Congresswoman Bachmann was Tea Party before there was a Tea Party, and after this year she will be missed in Congress,” Clawson said. “With a victory next Tuesday, we can continue the work she has started to protect our Constitution and restore fiscal integrity to Washington.”
Clawson faces Lizbeth Benacquisto, currently Florida Senate Majority Leader, Paige Kreegel, a former state Representative, and aviation authority Michael Dreikorn in the special GOP primary April 22. The winner will face Democrat April Freeman, Libertarian Party Ray Netherwood and write-in candidate Timothy Rossano in the June 24 general election.
Bachmann is the first Republican woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota. According to the release from Clawson’s campaign, Bachmann had developed a “reputation as a principled reformer who stays true to her constitutional conservative beliefs” while pushing for reforms in Washington D.C.
