With U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann's announcement that she will not seek a fifth term in the U.S. House, her one-time Democratic opponent said she "recognized that it would be an uphill battle for her going forward."
Bouyed by Bachmann's revelation, hotelier Jim Graves released a statement this morning, saying people in her district are "eager to be represented by a common-sense business person."
In their congressional race last year, Bachmann defeated Graves by little more than 1 percent, despite outspending Graves 10-to-1.
Graves announced this spring that he would again try to unseat Bachmann. Last week, his campaign released a poll that showed he and Bachmann were in a statistical tie, though Election Day is not until November 2014.
In a video released this morning, Bachmann assured her supporters that Graves' candidacy did not affect her decision, without mentioning him by name.
Bachmann's district is the state's most conservative. In November, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney won 56.5 of the vote in the district.
"My decision was not in any way influenced by any concerns about my being re-elected to Congress," Bachmann said. "If I ran I would again defeat the individual who I defeated last year."
Here is Graves' statement:
