Pawlenty flailing as national poll numbers sink
Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 10:33 am
- 9 Comments
As a new nationwide poll shows a decline in former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s popularity, the Republican candidate’s presidential campaign seems to be struggling with staff, messaging and funding.
The Gallup Poll, which was released Wednesday, puts Pawlenty at two percent support among likely Republican voters when the full list of all possible Republican candidates is considered — including Sarah Palin, Rick Perry and Rudolph Giuliani.
In an even harder hit to Pawlenty’s prospects, the Gallup poll shows that his popularity, when measured against all announced candidates, has been sinking since a late May poll, where he reaped 7 percent support. Pawlenty is now listed at 4 percent among announced candidates.
The Pawlenty campaign’s strategy of building up grassroots support as caucus-goers got to know him seems to be petering out. Instead, the campaign has recently relied on a number of high-profile attacks on Iowa frontrunner Rep. Michele Bachmann to break into the news cycle.
On Monday, Pawlenty said he has fought for many of the same issues as Bachmann, who is very popular with social conservatives. The only difference, Pawlenty said according to the Wall Street Journal, was that he has won his battles.
“I respect Congresswoman Bachmann, but her comments, I think, were consistent with her pattern of being inaccurate and off the mark, and number two, there’s a big difference between talking and getting stuff done,” he continued. “I get stuff done.”
As the Minnesota Independent reported earlier this month, Pawlenty still has some hope if he performs well in the Iowa Straw Poll in August, to which he is dedicating much of his resources.
But that emphasis on Iowa could be taking its toll too, as a main Pawlenty backer in New Hampshire, State Rep. Shaun Doherty, jumped to former Massachussets Gov. Mitt Romney’s campaign, according to Politico. The political news site also posted a desperate plea for campaign contributions in the run-up to the straw poll sent out by an Iowa Pawlenty supporter.
A bad performance at the straw poll would likely signal the death knell for a campaign that’s been trying to lower expectations for months. Even Jennifer Rubin at the Washington Post is speculating that the Pawlenty campaign is imploding.
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Comment posted July 27, 2011 @ 10:44 am
“A bad performance at the straw poll would likely signal the death knell for a campaign that’s been trying to lower expectations for months. ”
This shouldn’t take long. Who’s up for a party?
(Imagine all those suckers who gave him money. I think Tim will have some xplainin to do.)
Comment posted July 27, 2011 @ 10:45 am
Poor Timmy. His brand of pandering just isn’t playing well on the national stage? He just can’t run away from the fiscal wreck he left others to clean up? Ah, poor Timmy!
Comment posted July 27, 2011 @ 10:54 am
Ah, Timmy Teabags. How satisfying to watch your slow motion crash.
Comment posted July 27, 2011 @ 6:43 pm
Gee, you’d almost think his “popularity” here was over-hyped. Could a fawning Star and Trib, a gushing right wing radio and a the complicity of our local TeeVee news made Tiny Tim believe his own hype? Sure as Bachmann is handing him his ass in Iowa.
Comment posted July 27, 2011 @ 7:05 pm
‘old soldiers never die, they just fade away” , just like those other lost heros of the republican right, timmy boy will just fade away…………….
Pingback posted July 28, 2011 @ 12:17 am
[...] Pawlenty is dropping like a rock in the polls. [...]
Comment posted July 28, 2011 @ 9:51 am
He is not a total loser. He did not help create the I-35 bridge collapse. He did not leave MN finances in the red. And he certainly didn’t change parties and religions to aggrandize himself.
This man is a serious Republican candidate for POTUS and brings with a fine first lady candidate!
Comment posted July 28, 2011 @ 2:11 pm
A funny line from the link above:
“Pawlenty is pressuring Obama to come up with a Medicare plan. I doubt Obama cares what Tim Pawlenty thinks.”
So true. So true.
Comment posted July 29, 2011 @ 10:32 am
Well, the real question is who cares what Obama thinks? It’s a good thing most of us don’t care because I don’t think he’s going to tell us anytime soon. Members of congress are stepping up with a plan for the deficit. Where is he? When a president should be strong and lead the charge…where is he? My goodness, we are experiencing the worst disaster of leadership ever in the history of this country. When Governor Pawlenty left office Minnesota was not in the red. He stood by his principles even if it meant the first government shutdown in 150 years. I applaud him for that. He doesn’t need to get up and give grand speeches to appease the masses, he says what he thinks and talks about what we need to hear, instead of tickling our ears with what we want to hear.
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