By Chris Welch, CNN
Minneapolis, Minnesota (CNN) -- Republican hot button Sarah Palin took the stage Wednesday afternoon in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, at an event that state Republicans expect will draw 10,000 supporters.
The former Alaska governor and current conservative superstar headlined the event hosted by the Republican Party of Minnesota. Also featured, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, a recent fixture among the Tea Party crowd and fierce critic of President Obama.
Palin's last appearance in Minnesota was for her book tour in December.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is also set to address the crowd. Prior to Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, choosing Palin as his running mate in 2008, Pawlenty was widely rumored to have been on the short list.
Pawlenty and Palin are both said to be considering presidential bids of their own in 2012.
"This is a great opportunity for our grass roots activists to come out together to see someone who embodies the best in conservative principles," state GOP spokesman Mark Drake said of Palin.
Palin has been an outspoken Tea Party supporter -- most recently speaking to a group in Democratic Sen. Harry Reid's hometown, encouraging disgruntled Americans to "take back our country" while attacking what she called the "Obama-Pelosi-Reid spending spree".
Later Wednesday evening, a private fundraiser will be held near the rally site. Tickets begin at $500 a head, but $10,000 will land you a photo op with Palin and Bachmann, according to state Republicans.
Up to $4,600 per individual will be given to Bachmann for her re-election campaign. If an individual gives more, the remainder goes to the state party.
Since Bachmann's arrival in Washington in 2007, she's grabbed attention not so much for what she's accomplished as for controversial statements she has made.
In October, she told conservative bloggers at the Heritage Foundation that she refused to "cower in fear," and worry about media chatter. "They're irrelevant," she said of mainstream journalists. "And I don't play by their rules".
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, Bachmann blasted Obama's economic policies and declared that the president is leading America into a state of "decline."
Bachmann also took aim at Democratic efforts at health care reform and cap-and-trade policies designed to combat global warming, saying such measures will keep the U.S. economy on "an unsustainable path".
CNN
