Bachmann: New Hampshire Campaign Staff Quitting a 'Rumor'

By Stephanie Samuel, Christian Post Reporter Friday, October 21, 2011

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann denies reports that her entire New Hampshire team quit nearly two months ahead of the first primary races.

After several news agencies reported that the Minnesota Congresswoman's New Hampshire staffers resigned en masse, Bachmann called into Radio Iowa Friday and denounced the reports as false.

Bachmann told the station, "That is a shocking story to me I don't know where that came from. We have called staff in New Hampshire to find out where that came from and the staff have [sic] said that isn't true, so I don't know if this is just a bad story that's being fed by a different candidate or campaign. I have no idea where this came from, but we've made calls and it's certainly not true."

She told the station that "not one" person quit and the entire thing was nothing more than a "rumor."

Several news agencies quoted the WMUR Political Scoop blog of New Hampshire television station WMUR-TV, which broke the news, in stating the entire staff quit. The staff members, five in total according to The Daily Beast, left "over their frustration with Bachmann's lack of commitment to New Hampshire and her decision to focus solely on Iowa."

The story was reported by WMUR-TV Political Director James Pindall. He told National Public Radio that Bachmann's campaign had in general ignored New Hampshire since June.

"The final straw was last week when she came up for the Dartmouth debate, and there were tensions with the staff and with what's going on with the campaign," Pindall told NPR. "It was not her, and not a lack of confidence in her."

Pindall later reported that a Bachmann New Hampshire field director switched teams to join Texas Governor Rick Perry's camp. He attributed the information to a Perry staff member.

He wrote, "Moments after we learned that all of Michele Bachmann's paid staff in New Hampshire have quiet en masse, WMURPoliticalScoop.com also learned that one of those staffers is joining Rick Perry's campaign.”

"Caroline Gilger, who was the Southern New Hampshire Field Director for Bachmann, will start with the Perry campaign Monday, Perry's New Hampshire director Kerry Marsh tells WMURPoliticalScoop.com. Others are expected to join other campaigns very soon."

The Christian Post attempted multiple times to contact Pindall, but he did not respond in time before publication. CP also contacted the Perry campaign and a staffer confirmed that Kerry Marsh is indeed Perry's state director in New Hampshire but did not answer CP's questions about Pindall's statements or Gilger's alleged employment with the campaign before press time.