Following Iowa straw poll, Pawlenty ends campaign for president
Sunday, August 14, 2011 at 1:20 pm
- 4 Comments
Tim Pawlenty ended his campaign for president on Sunday morning following a poor performance in the Iowa Straw Poll on Saturday evening. Initially the campaign said it would forge ahead despite coming in a distant third to Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul, but on ABC’s This Week, Pawlenty made the announcement that his campaign was over. Almost immediately, however, high ranking GOP officials began suggesting Pawlenty take on Sen. Amy Klobuchar in 2012.
“We needed to get some lift to continue on and to have a pathway forward. That didn’t happen. So I’m announcing this morning on your show that I’m going to be ending my campaign for president,” Pawlenty said. “But I’m very, very grateful for the people of Iowa, the people of this country, who I had a chance to make my case to, and for my supporters and staff and friends who’ve been so loyal and helpful. I really appreciate all of them.”
“I wish it would have been different,” he added. “But, obviously, the pathway forward for me doesn’t really exist. And so we’re going to end the campaign.”
Already, pundits were guessing what would come next for Pawlenty.
Republican Party of Minnesota chair Tony Sutton told WCCO’s Esme Murphy on Sunday morning that he would be approaching Pawlenty to run against Klobuchar.
“I think he’d be great candidate against Amy Klobuchar,” said Sutton. “I think candidate like Tim Pawlenty would be very exciting.”
Sutton said he’d wait a few days but would be approaching Pawlenty about running.
Follow Andy Birkey on Twitter4 Comments
Comment posted August 14, 2011 @ 1:49 pm
And what have we all been saying for months about Tim’s chances of making it to the office of Pres?? Non-existent, no way, zero, Tim who??
Oh Lord Sutton! Keep your mouth shut. Tim doesn’t have a chance in hell at beating Amy. We just want him to go away once and for all. Maybe a nice condo in Mississippi? At least he would be around his own kind of folk.
Comment posted August 14, 2011 @ 4:28 pm
He’s been campaigning since 2009, but he couldn’t even make it to the primaries. By all means, run against Klobuchar. It would save us the anxiety of having a good candidate come out against her.
Comment posted August 14, 2011 @ 6:02 pm
Gee, thanks T-Paw for ignoring the state you were elected to govern for the last years of your term while you pathetically drifted further right in a feeble attempt to build your profile as a conservative presidential candidate. I’d like to say your campaign cratered, but there was never any momentum, nothing to fall from.
By all means, run for senator. It will be amusing to watch you whiff in debates against Dan Severson while neither of you come close to unseating Amy Klobuchar.
Comment posted August 14, 2011 @ 9:24 pm
Yes, please do run. We Minnesotans now know the real Pawlenty. You have completely destroyed yourself in our state by pandering to the extreme-right during your ill-fated Presidential campaign. See ya! :)
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