Bachmann Drops Out

After an anemic, single-digit finish in the Iowa caucuses, Rep. Michele Bachmann announced Wednesday that she is ending her White House bid.

With husband Marcus by her side and parting shots at health care and financial reform at the ready, Bachmann said during a morning press conference, “I have decided to stand aside. I believe that if we are going to take back our country, we must rally around the person that our country and our party and our people select to be that standard-bearer.” She did not offer an endorsement.

“But I will continue to fight,” Bachmann said. “We never compromised our principles, and we can leave this race knowing we ran it with utmost integrity.”

Though Bachmann’s divisive stance against LGBT rights on multiple levels was hardly unique in the field of leading GOP candidates, her positions were among the most scrutinized — and were subject to an undercover sting last summer by into a clinic owned by the Bachmanns that was shown to utilize “ex-gay” reparative therapy.

In Tuesday’s caucuses, Bachmann placed near the bottom of the pack with 5% of the vote, despite extensive campaigning throughout her home state.

Bachmann left the press conference thanking supporters with Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister” playing in the background.

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