After helping Brown, Pawlenty turns attention to Parry

Fresh off helping Scott Brown win in Massachusetts, Gov. Tim Pawlenty is turning to next week’s special Minnesota Senate election. T-Paw doesn’t always back the GOP pick (see New York State), but Wednesday night he’ll be at the Owatonna Country Club with Republican Mike Parry, whose past rude tweets have marred his District 26 campaign.

With the U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts going to Brown Tuesday night, Pawlenty was presumably partying heartily at his political action committee’s fundraiser in Minneapolis. His PAC, Freedom First, had solicited donations for Brown’s effort.

But the governor was set to rise early Wednesday for a full day of events in southern Minnesota, starting at 8:30 a.m. with a business breakfast in Mankato and then speaking (someone has to) at a “Small Business Listening Session” in Fairmont.

By nightfall, Pawlenty will share the stage with Parry in Owatonna for what’s billed as a roundtable discussion with business leaders on jobs and the economy. Not up for discussion is Parry’s Twitter account, which in recent weeks was revealed to have carried messages calling President Obama a “Power Hungry Arrogant Black Man” and ridiculing Democratic support for the Matthew Shepard Act as having something to do with pedophilia.

After an outcry over the tweets, Parry apologized and Pawlenty has accepted that, saying, “I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and campaign for him.”

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann lauded Parry’s “powerful voice” in an endorsement Tuesday.

Also in the running for state Senate are Democrat Jason Engbrecht, who had help last weekend from U.S. Sen. Al Franken, and Waseca Mayor Roy Srp, running on the Independence Party ticket.

The seat is empty because former state Sen. Dick Day resigned to lobby for so-called “racino” legislation that would expand gambling at horse tracks.