2012

“Where is Michele Bachmann headed?” asks CNN.com in a longish story that charts her rise alongside Sarah Palin’s. Once upon a time the Sixth District congresswoman had to prime the pump to get speculation about her future flowing. Now it comes almost unbidden as part of the Bachmann media overdrive.

Tim Pawlenty didn’t bring it. Or he did, depending on who you ask. Here’s a roundup of reaction to the Minnesota governor’s speech to Republican activists in Iowa over the weekend.

Taking his opening shot in the state that hosts the nation’s earliest presidential caucus, Gov. Tim Pawlenty could hardly miss by appealing to “Heartland values” that Minnesota shares with neighboring Iowa. But other parts of his Saturday-night speech to Republicans in Des Moines seemed slightly off-target.

Is the honeymoon over already for Gov. Tim Pawlenty? The Republican has largely been receiving accolades from the national media as he’s bolstered his profile with cable television appearances and laid the groundwork for a potential 2012 presidential bid. But influential Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza takes Pawlenty down a few pegs in a post [...]

Gov. Tim Pawlenty travels to Iowa this weekend to headline a Republican fundraiser, simply the latest evidence that he’s seriously eyeing a 2012 run for president. But according to the latest poll looking at potential GOP presidential contenders, Pawlenty continues to lag well behind his likely rivals. Only 32 percent of Republicans polled would “seriously [...]

Gov. Pawlenty’s new Freedom First political action committee held its first local fundraiser tonight at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. About 250 people — the same size crowd Pawlenty drew at the PAC’s considerably more affordable pretzel reception in Washington, D.C. last month – paid $1,000 each to attend a reception on the hotel’s third [...]

MSNBC commentators jumped on a remark by Gov. Pawlenty this morning about minimum requirements for being a Republican candidate: ”There’s a range of behavior and issue positions you can take. You just can’t be so far out of the mainstream that it becomes a joke.”

Does Rep. Michele Bachmann coronate kings? If it’s Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King, perhaps. It was Bachmann who first floated the notion of a presidential run by King, and now he says he won’t rule out the possibility.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty tweeted in triumph after Republican endorsee Dede Scozzafava dropped out of New York’s special Congressional election.

Politics in Minnesota has posted a lovely new infographic chart showing DFL candidates for governor and the endorsements they’ve earned.