Representative Michele Bachmann announced Wednesday that she would not seek a fifth term in Congress next year.
Bachmann made the announcement six months after being re-elected in what the New York Times reported as her most challenging Congressional campaign since she was first elected to the House in 2006. Her announcement also comes as her former presidential campaign faces inquiries into its fund-raising activities.
"I have decided next year I will not seek a fifth Congressional term," she said in a video on her campaign Web site. "This decision was not impacted in any way by the recent inquiries into the activities of my former presidential campaign or my former presidential staff."
The Minnesota Republican is best known for her unwavering stance on anti-abortion and adherence to Tea Party values. Bachmann's candidacy failed to spark interest against candidates that included Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and Herman Cain, who all eventually lost to Mitt Romney.
"My decision was not in any way influenced by any concerns about my being re-elected to Congress," she said. "If I ran I would again defeat the individual who I defeated last year."
According to the New York Times, Bachmann's campaign team is currently under investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics. The committee is looking into allegations that her former campaign aides that she may have improperly used money raised by one of her House-affiliated political action committees to help her presidential bid in the run-up to the Iowa presidential caucuses in January 2012.
Bachmann's presidential campain initially excited Tea Party supporters, but would later find herself upstaged by conservative opponents like Mr. Cain and Mr. Santorum. Reportedly, she was prone to misstatements, including saying the vaccine against the human papillomavirus was linked to "mental retardation."
"There is no future option or opportunity, be it directly in the political area or otherwise, that I won't be giving serious consideration if it can help save and protect our great nation for future generations," she said in her online video announcement.
Bachmann also stated that she expected "the mainstream liberal media to put a detrimental spin" on her decision not to seek re-election, calling its attention to her time in politics "a true compliment of my public service effectiveness."
