Donations to Bachmann Up in May

Reuters reports:

Presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann saw a jump in political donations in May, aided in large part by small contributions as she revs up her fundraising machine for the 2012 Republican nomination.

Bachmann, a conservative Tea Party favorite in the House of Representatives, saw one of her two political committees -- MichelePAC -- bring in about $214,000 in May, compared with $173,000 for April, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission posted on Monday.

The three-term Minnesota congresswoman, who raised more than all of her House colleagues during the 2010 midterm election cycle, declared she would be a presidential candidate last week.

Bachmann, 55, is founder and head of the House Tea Party Caucus. She was one of the first elected officials to court the movement that helped fuel Republican gains in the 2010 midterm elections with calls for spending cuts and reduced government.