Census critic Bachmann could be vulnerable

ST. PAUL, Minn., Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., who once said the census was an invasion of privacy, may need every form completed in her district to remain a representative.

Minnesota's state demographer estimated the North Star state could be within 1,000 people of losing one of its eight congressional seats, WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, reported Monday.

The district that's most vulnerable to being lost? Bachmann's 6th District, experts said.

In June, Bachmann said during an interview with Fox News people would be "appalled" when they read the U.S. Census questions, saying they were "very intricate questions that are being asked of the American people."

"I'm saying, for myself and my family, our comfort level is we will comply with the Constitution Article I Section II," Bachmann said. "We will give the number of people in our home, and that's where we're going to draw the line."

The Minnesota Legislature and the next governor will decide how the districts would be redrawn based on the decennial census. Bachmann's arching district loops around a portion of the Twin Cities metro area. Several experts told WCCO that if one district were to be absorbed by others, it would be hers.

"She becomes the most vulnerable just simply because of the shape of her district, because of the likelihood of the political composition of the Legislature next year and because Democrats don't like her," David Schultz, an election law expert at Hamline University in St. Paul, said.