Bachmann: I'm a bipartisan problem-solver
Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., among the most polarizing figures in Congress, cast herself as a bipartisan problem solver who was able to secure support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in order to nail down money for a new bridge over the St. Croix River this year, MPR reports. In her final debate with DFL challenger Jim Graves, she called the accomplishment "absolutely remarkable." She said, "I've brought Democrats and Republicans together and solved a problem."
Graves continued to hammer away at his message that he is a commonsense businessman offering a moderate alternative to Bachmann, whose comments are frequently controversial. "I'm really a fiscal conservative to the bone," he said. "I've balanced budgets my whole life, I've created businesses my whole life."
The two also traded barbs over federal spending, abortion and the 2010 health care law, MPR reports.
Bachmann is in her toughest re-election race yet, although she has always held a lead in the polls, Reuters reports. The Bachmann-Graves race has been the nation's most expensive House contest in both money raised and spent, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
