Less than two days after winning Minnesota's caucuses Mitt Romney is out of the race for president. There was a rumor that Pawlenty was there at the Conservative Political Action Conference. What is true is that Pawlenty is in Washington, what apparently isn't true is that he was with John McCain at CPAC. The governor's office confirmed he's raising money for the Republican National Convention later this year, which doesn't hurt his standing in the party or place with McCain who most are saying has sealed the nomination for president.
Pawlenty has said he won't announce whether he's running for governor until after the session ends in spring. Still, nearly every person who stops by my Capitol office wants to know if there's "legs" to Pawlenty for VP. Many people around the Capitol say the governor is relishing the campaigning and national scene. But that could make him vulnerable to claims of being too ambitious and ignoring the state. When I talked with him last week about presidential politics he was incredibly engaged and chatty on the topic. Who wouldn't want to be a player in the most exciting presidential campaign in a generation?
The DFL just sent out this tough press release on the VP topic:
This memorandum makes the case for Governor Tim Pawlenty as Senator McCain’s running mate. Highlights include:
- Pawlenty was unable to carry Minnesota for his endorsed candidate at GOP precinct caucuses, while DFL caucus turnout dwarfed Republican turnout by close to a factor of four.
- Minnesotans are indifferent at best to Pawlenty’s potential presence on the national Republican ticket.
- While governor, Pawlenty has watched his party lose a net 43 Republican legislative seats, and has been unable or unwilling to keep his own party in line.
- With economic issues rising to the forefront of voters’ concerns nationally, Pawlenty has presided over dramatic job losses and Minnesota’s slide into recession.