Michele Bachmann
Age: 54
Occupation: Minnesota Congresswoman in the House of Representatives
Previous TIME 100 appearances: 0
By founding the House Tea Party Caucus last July, always outspoken Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is making sure that the grass-roots conservative movement that shook the elections in 2010 has as much impact on Capitol Hill in 2011. Bachmann has been one of President Barack Obama's most vocal critics — calling his health care law the "crown jewel of socialism" that would lead to a "gangster government" — but she hasn't been afraid to challenge the good ol' boys within her own party either. Following the GOP's sweeping victories in last year's midterms, Bachmann unsuccessfully sought the House Republican conference chair post, even though high-profile colleagues like Eric Cantor and Mike Pence endorsed Jeb Hensarling for the job. In January, Bachmann delivered her own televised response to Obama's State of the Union address on the Tea Party Express website, despite the fact that Representative Paul Ryan had been tapped to deliver the Republicans' official response. And this year Bachmann will look to grow her influence. On March 24, the Minnesota Representative confirmed a CNN report that she'll launch a 2012 presidential exploratory committee in June.