(CNN) — Former presidential candidate Michele Bachmann threw her support behind Mitt Romney on Thursday.
“I’m honored to announce that today, I am endorsing Governor Mitt Romney for President of the United States, a man who will preserve the American dream of prosperity and liberty,” the Minnesota congresswoman said in a statement
Bachmann is set to appear with Romney at an event in Portsmouth, Virginia at 1:15 p.m ET.
“We’ve had a hard fought battle already to choose a candidate. Being personally involved in the endorsement process was an honor for me. And I want to thank everyone involved in the campaigns, from the candidates, the delegates, the volunteers, all of us can be proud of our efforts,” Bachmann added.
The congresswoman has repeatedly said in recent weeks it was only a matter of time before she would officially back the presumptive Republican nominee.
As a candidate, Bachmann initially ran with large tea party appeal, frequently bucking what she described as the more establishment faction of the party that Romney represented.
Her endorsement comes weeks after former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum dropped out of the race, a move that essentially locked up the nomination for Romney.
Asked repeatedly why she was holding out in her support for Romney, Bachmann would not go into specifics but said she was working “behind the scenes, bringing together all factions of our party.”
“As the line says in the ‘Wizard of Oz,’ ‘All in good time, my pretty,'” Bachmann said on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.” “It will happen.”
National Review first reported the news of Bachmann’s upcoming endorsement.
CNN’s Jim Acosta, Peter Hamby and Ashley Killough contributed to this report.
The-CNN-Wire/Atlanta/+1-404-827-WIRE(9473)
™ & © 2012 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
