Pawlenty announces 29 Iowa county chairs

The presidential campaign of former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced the names of 29 Iowa county chairs Tuesday, although he still needs to recruit 70 more.

“I am honored to have such strong leadership at the grassroots level, which will be crucial to the success of my campaign in Iowa,” Pawlenty said in a statement.

Senior Political Advisor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Pawlenty’s message is increasingly resonating with Iowans, attracting talent to his organization.

As Pawlenty’s campaign has faltered in state and national polls, Pawlenty has increasingly focused on the Iowa Straw Poll, in Ames, Iowa, which is a test of organizational strength. A recent commentary in the Washington Post predicted that a middling performance for Pawlenty in Ames would doom his presidential ambitions.

With only two weeks left until the straw poll, Pawlenty still has to recruit 70 more county chairs in the state. At this time in the 2008 campaign, Democrats like former U.S. Sen. John Edwards had already recruited all 99 Iowa county chairs. The Minnesota Independent has asked the campaign when they expect to announce all county chairs, and will update this post if they respond.