The Schultz Report: Coleman up, Pawlenty down?

This week in the Schultz Report, we cull through the Pennsylvania results — the worst of both worlds for the Democratic party, says Schultz — but we begin by talking about the latest Rasmussen survey of Minnesota voters’ White House and US Senate preferences.

Schultz thinks the latest presidential poll numbers from the state are a potential blow to Pawlenty’s much-discussed chances at becoming John McCain’s running mate. According to the last two Rasmussen surveys, in February and this week, Pawlenty’s presence on the GOP ticket would repel more Minnesotans than it attracted. “If one looks at the overall opinion polls regarding Tim Pawlenty in the state of Minnesota, he’s not an overly popular governor,” Schultz notes. “Remember, he got re-elected with less than 50 percent, he got elected initially with less than 50 percent, and his polling data is now consistently showing him under 50 percent in terms of favorables.

“For Tim Pawlenty’s fortunes as vice-president, I don’t think it bodes well. One of the things you want, if you’re going to put somebody on a ticket, you want to make sure they’re going to help you pick up [their] state. In the case of Minnesota, given the fact it looks like people are less inclined to vote for McCain if Pawlenty’s on the ticket, it doesn’t suggest it makes sense [to choose him].  The whole purpose of holding the Republican convention here was to get people hot and bothered, with the idea being that Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa would all go GOP this time. It doesn’t make sense to put all your eggs in one basket by saying let’s hold the convention here, let’s put Pawlenty on the ticket, let’s do all that to win these 10 [Minnesota] electoral votes.”

Listen: David Schultz talks about Pawlenty and Franken’s polling weaknesses and the continuing Obama/Clinton stalemate (11:35)