WASHINGTON — Democrat Jim Graves will challenge Rep. Michele Bachmann again in 2014.

“These days Congress is all about and scoring political points rather than actually solving problems and Minnesota’s 6th District – my home – is losing out because of that more than anywhere,” Graves said in a statement announcing his run. “I’m not interested in celebrity, only in solutions.”

Bachmann, coming off a failed presidential campaign, beat Graves by only 4,300 votes in November, easily the closest race of the cycle in Minnesota, and the tightest re-election campaign of her career. Bachmann underperformed in what is considered a conservative district, winning 50.5 percent of the vote while Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney garnered 56.3 percent.

The Bachmann campaign was clearly ready for Graves to announce the rematch, releasing a video called “Jim Graves is Back,” looking to tie him to President Obama and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. The campaign put out a fundraising pitch shortly after the announcement.

In a statement, Bachmann spokesman Dan Kotman called Graves “another liberal politician rubber stamping the Obama-Pelosi agenda of higher taxes and runaway government spending.”

“Minnesotans want jobs and a growing economy, which is why Minnesotans chose Rep. Bachmann to create jobs, lower taxes, limit government and protect their personal liberties,” he said.

Here’s what Graves’ campaign manager, Aaron Wells, told the St. Cloud Times:

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.

Graves has indicated for a while that he was considering another run against Bachmann, even penning a March Star Tribune op-ed outlying his plans for federal tax reform.

National Democrats, who largely ignored the 6^th District last year after investing in Bachmann opponents in elections past, have said they would consider looking at the district again in 2014 if Graves decided to run. Bachmann is one of the liberal House Majority PAC’s top 10 targets for 2014. In a statement, spokesman Andy Stone said, “Jim Graves proved that Michele Bachmann’s single-minded focus on her national celebrity comes at the expense of her constituents in Minnesota. Starting early means he’ll be able to drive that message home this time around.”

On the Republican side, a National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman said: “Jim Graves must have never heard that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. Graves’ artificial, top-down liberal policies didn’t resonate with Minnesota families last election, and they still won’t come Election Day 2014.”

Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: @dhenry