Bachmann denies she will announce Thursday a run for president in Iowa despite rumors

Will she or won’t she?

Rumors have percolated for weeks leading up to the Polk County Republicans’ Robb Kelley Victory Club dinner on whether or not keynote speaker U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn) will use the Thursday night platform to launch her 2012 presidential campaign.

While some media outlets discount the rumors and the Congresswoman maintains she’ll announce her decision in June, Bachmann has made recent movements suggesting her entrance into the race, which already includes former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and most recently Atlanta businessman Herman Cain and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

The Congresswoman, who was born in Waterloo before moving to Minnesota as a child, has made multiple trips to Iowa in recent months, including speaking at a rally at the state capitol in March to hundreds of homeschooling families. And though she has yet to even form a presidential exploratory committee, Iowa’s political pundits, including Drake University’s Dennis Goldford and University of Iowa’s Dr. Timothy Hagle, have pegged Bachmann as a candidate who could collect the social conservative and tea party activist vote if she chooses to run for President.

Late Wednesday, Bachmann released a video and press statement announcing she had established a “money bomb” similar to what Paul has used for quick fundraising spikes. Her goal is to raise $240,000 within 24 hours.

However, Bachmann does not specify the money bomb is going toward a presidential campaign. Rather, the Congresswoman’s reason for fundraising is to “make Barack Obama a one-term president,” and appears as though it is aimed at attracting tea party activists, who tend to self-identify as voters who want to return to the bottom line of the U.S. Constitution.

“With almost 14 million Americans unemployed, oil prices at an all-time high, and a national debt over $14.3 trillion, America cannot afford another four years of an Obama White House,” Bachmann’s money bomb website says. “By making a donation to my money bomb today, you can continue the incredible momentum of our movement of constitutional conservatives nationwide by helping spread our message all over America, and change the future of our country for the better.”

Bachmann reiterated her possible campaign stance in an e-mail to supporters that her family is “prayerfully considering what the next 18 months or so may bring.”