New 2012 poll shows Pawlenty lagging in awareness among Republicans

While hardly an accurate indicator of how Tim Pawlenty might do as the GOP’s 2012 presidential candidate, a new Rasmussen poll does have one takeaway for Minnesota’s governor: he’s got a long way to go to raise awareness among Republicans about who he is.

The July 6 survey of 750 likely Republican voters found Pawlenty in a dead tie when respondents were asked which GOP candidate they’d vote for were the 2012 GOP primary held today. Garnering one percent of the vote, Pawlenty tied Haley Barbour, the Mississippi governor “who is best known for denying climate change,” as Grace Kelly at the Minnesota Progressive Project notes. Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee were neck-and-neck at the top with 25 percent, 24 percent and 22 percent, respectively.

Pawlenty bested Barbour — barely — when respondents were asked about impressions of each candidate: eight percent said they had a “very favorable” impression of Pawlenty (7 percent said the same for Barbour). And, in another indication that Pawlenty’s star hasn’t yet climbed very high nationally, 28 percent said they weren’t sure what they felt about Minnesota’s governor — another tie with Barbour.

One area wher Pawlenty’s looking up: He’s not the least undesirable candidate, at this point. Tying for that honor, with 21 percent of those surveyed saying they’d least prefer these GOP candidates, are Barbour and soon-to-be-former Alaska governor Sarah Palin.

The Rasmussen Reports poll has a margin of error of +/-4 percentage points.