Democrat Elwyn Tinklenberg may not have been able to beat Republican U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in 2008 but he was able to give Democrats another significant gift: $250,000.

According to Federal Election Commission records released Tuesday, Tinklenberg, of Blaine, donated $250,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee last year. In the closing days of the 2008 race, Tinkenberg was deluged with nearly $2 million in campaign contributions after Bachmann said on MSNBC that she was concerned that Barack Obama "may have anti-American views."

Tinklenberg's contribution to the campaign committee makes him one of the DCCC's top ten givingest pols in 2009 and puts him well above current Democratic U.S. House members from Minnesota.

According to the FEC, Rep. Betty McCollum, of St. Paul, gave the DCCC $95,000; . Rep. Keith Ellison, of Minneapolis, gave $15,000; Rep. Collin Peterson, of Detroit Lakes, gave $150,000 and Rep. Jim Oberstar, of Chisholm gave $150,000. Sen. Amy Klobuchar gave the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee $100,000 last year. The record doesn't show any contributions from Sen. Al Franken, who took office last summer.

Minnesota's Republican House members contributions to the National Republican Congressional Committee also fell below Tinkenberg's -- and most of the Democrats to the DCCC. U.S. Rep. John Kline, of Lakeville, ponied up $45,000 and U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen gave $2,000. The FEC record doesn't show any RNCC contributions from Rep. Michele Bachmann in 2009 or Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee contributions from former Sen. Norm Coleman, whose term ended in January 2009 but ended his fight for the seat that summer.