Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) raised more than half a million dollars in the final quarter of 2009, pushing her total receipts for the year to $1.6 million and giving her a big financial edge over her prospective Democratic challengers.Bachmann will report $592,000 in receipts and more than $1 million in cash on hand at the end of the year, her campaign announced Friday. Campaign spokesman Dave Dziok touted the impressive totals as a sign of Bachmann’s widespread support. “You can’t have almost 9,000 individual contributors from Minnesota without being in tune with the voters,— he said in a statement. “The numbers speak for themselves, and the campaign couldn’t be stronger.—Democrats think Bachmann’s polarizing persona makes her vulnerable to a challenge, but it will be an uphill climb for whomever emerges as the Democratic nominee, given both the Republican lean of the district and Bachmann’s fundraising advantage.State Sen. Tarryl Clark (D) and physician Maureen Reed (D) both started 2010 with just under $400,000 in the bank. Clark announced earlier this week that she’d raised an impressive $294,000 in the fourth quarter, but it’s still just about half of what Bachmann pulled in the same time frame.