Tim Pawlenty quits race for Republican presidential nomination

Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty says ‘the pathway forward for me doesn’t exist’ after finishing third in Iowa vote Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination on Sunday, hours after finishing a disappointing third in the Iowa straw poll . “I wish it would have been different, but obviously the pathway forward for me doesn’t exist so we are going to end the campaign,” Pawlenty said on ABC’s This Week programme. He had told supporters on a conference call shortly before the broadcast interview that he was ending his White House bid. “I thought I would have made a great president, but obviously that pathway isn’t there,” Pawlenty said. “I do believe we’re going to have a very good candidate who is going to beat Barack Obama.” The two-term former governor of a Democratic-leaning state was on John McCain’s shortlist for the vice-presidential nomination in 2008. He spent two years laying the groundwork for his 2012 campaign and hoped to become the alternative to the national frontrunner, Mitt Romney. But this summer he unexpectedly found himself in a grudge match with the Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who won the straw poll in Iowa. Pawlenty acknowledged that he needed a strong showing in the poll to quiet concerns that his campaign was faltering, and spent the bulk of his campaign account on TV ads ahead of the contest and on a statewide tour. After finishing well behind Bachmann and the Texas congressman Ron Paul, Pawlenty initially suggested to supporters that he was not dropping out. But hours later, he reversed course. Pawlenty, 50, had seemed to have all the right ingredients as a candidate. His blue-collar upbringing offered him a natural rapport with middle-class America. He governed as a fiscal hardliner in a left-leaning state, winning his second term in a year when Republicans elsewhere got drubbed. He made inroads with the right crowds and assembled an all-star cast of advisers with plenty of presidential campaign experience. But he struggled to connect. He came off as bland and rehearsed next to more dynamic contenders, and languished in the polls. Rick Perry’s announcement of his candidacy on Saturday pushed Pawlenty further to the side. Tim Pawlenty Republicans US elections 2012 US politics United States guardian.co.uk

Posted by on August 14, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.