Rep. Michele Bachmann told Politico Tuesday that her efforts motivating the Tea Party and bringing its members under the Republican wing helped "put that gavel in John Boehner's hands," she said of the soon-to-be Republican House Speaker. In the interview, Bachmann said that she should be the GOP Conference Chair because she's been effective speaking out at a local and national level.

"I was instrumental in bringing tens of thousands of people to the U.S. Capitol to rally against Obamacare and to attend our press conference," she told Politico. "I've been able to highly motivate people — from disaffected Democrats to Independents to Republicans to non-political people."

She noted that at one point, it was unclear whether the Tea Party would form a third party instead of joining with Republicans. Bachmann said she "worked really hard to pull them to our party because we have to have a two-party system."

Bachmann's interview with Politico is the second D.C.-based outlet she's spoken with in her bid for a GOP leadership position against Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling; she also talked to the conservative-leaning Daily Caller last week.

Bachmann's spokesman has not responded to the Star Tribune's request for an interview on her leadership bid. To be fair, now that Bachmann is running for a House leadership position her constituency is in D.C. rather than Minnesota, where Politico is read a tad more than the Star Tribune.