Bachmann's Iowa State Chairman Endorses Ron Paul

Des Moines
Iowa state senator Kent Sorenson, who had served as Michele Bachmann's state campaign chairman, announced this evening at a Ron Paul rally that he is pulling his support from Bachmann and now backs Paul. Sorenson said in a statement: 

I still maintain an immense amount of respect for Michele. The reasons are many. She’s never betrayed conservatives on issues like taxes, the Right to Life, and the Second Amendment. So over the past few months, I have been saddened at the dismissive way she's been treated among some conservatives especially after winning the Iowa Straw Poll.

But the fact is, there is a clear top tier in the race for the Republican nomination for President, both here in Iowa and nationally. Ron Paul is easily the most conservative of this group.

You can read the whole statement here. Bachmann pushed back against Sorenson tonight, saying, "Kent Sorenson personally told me he was offered a large sum of money to go to work for the Paul campaign.” Sorenson and the Paul camp deny the allegation, and it would be quite unusual for Sorenson to tell the woman he was betraying that he was just doing it for money. This news, combined with CNN's poll showing Santorum surging and prominent evangelicals backing Santorum, would seem to badly hurt whatever chance Bachmann had of making a comeback in Iowa.