Tea Party Leader Backs Bachmann

Local Tea Party leader Jerry DeLemus announced in an email tonight that he is endorsing Michele Bachmann for the Republican presidential nomination.

DeLemus, chairman of the Granite State Patriots Liberty PAC and founder of the Rochester 912 Project, said that he was "really taking a look at Ron Paul," but he wound up going with Bachmann, who had impressed him early on in the process.

"I kept coming back to Michele, and as the head of the Tea Party Caucus in Congress she most closely reflects my concerns and views regarding what needs to happen in America to save America," DeLemus said in the email. "It is time we the voters choose the candidate we really want to win and stop falling prey to the scare tactic of voting who can win."

Bachmann was second in the polls in New Hampshire following her strong performance in the June debate in Manchester. But she spent little time in the Granite State in the months that followed, and saw her support here dwindle. Things only got worse when her New Hampshire campaign staff quit on her in the fall.

She has seen a bit of a resurgence in the polls of late both nationally and in Iowa, but hasn't seen a similar spike in her popularity in New Hampshire.

In his email, DeLemus made it clear that this was his "personal endorsement," and not that of the Granite State Patriots Liberty PAC or his 912 group.