Bachmann skipped family reunion she cited

On her victory lap of Iowa yesterday, Straw Poll winner Rep. Michele Bachmann paid repeated tribute to her local roots, and repeatedly mentioned her family reunion that day, citing it as an excuse for her late arrival at a local party event in Waterloo.

But Bachmann's mother and two cousins told POLITICO's Emily Schultheis that Bachmann didn't attend the reunion, though her husband and children did. Her spokeswoman, Alice Stewart, didn't respond to two emails asking for an explanation of the disparity.

Bachmann told Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday” that same morning that she was looking forward to the reunion.

“We’re having a big family reunion today in northeastern Iowa so I’ll get to go and see all my relatives,” she said.

That evening, she answered a reporter's question about why she'd turned up late to the Black Hawk County Republican Party dinner in Waterloo.

It was, she said, "a busy day.

“We had a big family reunion just north of Waterloo," she said. She also said she'd visited a local "shut-in."

The annual Amble family reunion was in Lake Mills, Iowa, on the Minnesota border. Bachmann's mother, Jean Amble, said she hadn’t expected her daughter to attend the reunion, given her busy schedule for the day.

Bachmann remains close to her family. She “usually attends” the event, her cousin Shirly Movick said. Movick said she and several other family members went to Ames to support Bachmann at the straw poll on Saturday, and saw her there.