Michele Bachmann: No sign from God so no run for Senate

Former Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann has ruled out a run for U.S. Senate seat next fall.

Bachmann's reasoning: She didn't have any "sense from the Lord" that she should try for the seat, which was left vacant after Al Franken resigned following allegations of sexual misconduct.

"It became very clear to me that I wasn't hearing any call from God to do this," Bachmann told radio host Jan Markell.

MPR News confirmed Bachmann is staying out of the Senate race.

Bachmann served four terms in Congress and attempted a run for president in 2012, dropping out after the Iowa caucus. She has remained a political figure since leaving Congress, including her public backing of Donald Trump for president in 2016.

Last month, Bachmann said she hadn't ruled out a run for Senate, and that she and her husband were considering their options.

"The question is: should it be me, should it be now? But there's also a price to pay. The price is bigger than ever because the swamp is so toxic," Bachmann said at the time.

Bachmann said she had been considering a run since she first heard Franken was stepping down late last year.

Multiple women had accused Franken, a Democrat, of touching them inappropriately and without consent during photo opportunities, political events and while on USO tours.

Bachmann had said Franken was "forced out" by the Democratic Party.

DFL party leaders are rallying around Tina Smith for the election in November. She's currently filling Franken's Senate seat on an interim basis.

She has a Democratic challenger in Minneapolis attorney Nick Leonard, who said he will seek the DFL endorsement, but will also run in a primary if he loses.

Republican state Sen. Karin Housley is also running for the seat.

The winner of the special election will serve the final two years of Franken's Senate term.