Presidential GOP candidate Michele Bachmann stops in Lutz, Sarasota during tour through FL

SARASOTA, Fla. - Among a crowd of almost five thousand at Idlewild Baptist Church was a familiar face Sunday morning: Congresswoman and GOP presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann.

She made an appearance in Lutz along with her husband Dr. Marcus Bachmann as part of her tour through the Sunshine State.

Bachmann started the day by taking part in the late-morning service, before mingling with voters.

“Florida is an extremely important state in who will be chosen as the next president of the United States,” Bachmann told reporters during a brief press conference following the service.

Bachmann is trying to continue her momentum following a win in the Iowa Straw Poll earlier this month. This is her first tour through Florida -- a state that has always played a pivotal roll in the general election.

“How can people move up on the economic ladder if they can't even get a decent job,” she said, as she got into one of the issues of job creation, arguably the biggest issue the next president faces. “As president of the United States, I want the economy to work for all Americans.”

Later on Sunday, the Bachman campaign met some opposition at a GOP rally in Sarasota. A group of protesters lined the street before the Congresswoman arrived.

One shouted, “two, four, six, eight, you can’t put our gay away,” referring to Bachmann’s conservative stance on same-sex couples.

Inside, the rally was an up-beat event, where organizers introduced her as the next President of the United States.

Among the highlights of the rally, Bachmann said that as president, she plans to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency, or as she calls it, the “job killing agency.”