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Wells said Graves’ desire to finish what he started in 2012 —when he lost to Bachmann, R-Stillwater, by about 4,300 votes in one of the nation’s closest U.S. House races — spurred his decision to make another bid for Congress.

“Jim knows that everybody heard his message last time about his business experience and the need for serious change,” Wells said. “He’s feeling such an outpouring of support.”

Another factor was having a far longer period of time in which to campaign before the 2014 election, Wells said. The 2012 cycle was truncated by the once-a-decade redistricting, which forced candidates to wait until spring 2012 to determine where district boundaries would fall.