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Guess her many panicked emails paid off.

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., announced raising a huge $4.5 million during the third quarter. No word on spending or cash on hand.

We wrote over the summer about Bachmann's frequent, breathless emails pleading for money and claiming untold millions would be spent against her.

And even today, amidst her $4.5 million announcement, the national tea party star sent out a missive claiming they were "still $77,000 short of our goals."

Bachmann faces self-funding Democrat Jim Graves. She is favored to win reelection -- her district became more Republican in redistricting -- but is still considered potentially vulnerable.

Bachmann's haul will likely be the biggest of any House member this quarter, and is more than most Senate candidates raised as well.