CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
Updated June 2, 2009 – 3:56 p.m.
Minnesota’s Pawlenty Passes on Third Bid for Governor
By Emily Cadei, CQ Staff
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced Tuesday he will not seek a third term in 2010, saying the post “should not be a permanent position for anyone.”
Pawlenty, in a speech in St. Paul, said he had been mulling his options for months but “finalized the decision in the last week or 10 days.”
“I still have a lot of ideas and energies left,” he said. “But being governor should not be a permanent position for anyone.”
Pawlenty’s decision frees him to pursue national ambitions.
The plain-speaking Midwesterner was on the shortlist of vice presidential candidates for 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain and is now considered a contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.
The move also shakes up the 2010 governor’s race, improving Democrats’ chances of taking over the seat.
Minnesota is one of a few states that does not have term limits, and Pawlenty would have been a favorite for re-election, but there was no guarantee of victory and the race, like his contests in 2002 and 2006, was bound to be hard-fought. Minnesota has trended Democratic in recent years, voting for Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential race and giving Democrats the majorities in the state Senate and Assembly.
Pawlenty said presidential aspirations were not at the heart of his decision. “I don’t know what my plans are,” he told reporters. “I don’t have any plans beyond serving out my term.”
Running for re-election would have required Pawlenty to cater to his state’s center-left electorate, while as a national candidate his intial concern would be pleasing the conservative base of the GOP.
“I think running for re-election was a no-win proposition for him,” said Lawrence Jacobs, chair of the political studies department at University of Minnesota. “There was a real possibility that he would lose which would remove any chance he had of being a candidate for president.”
Lately, Pawlenty has been willing to take stands that could alienate important portions of the Minnesota electorate.
He endured a bruising budget battle with the Democratic-controlled state legislature’s during their legislative session this spring, which ended with him taking control of the state’s budget via a rarely used executive power called “unallotment.”
Fiscal conservatives applauded the move as a way to rein in state spending and taxation.
Pawlenty also has hedged about when he will take action to certify a winner in Minnesota’s yet-to-be-determined 2008 Senate race. The Senate requires certification of its members before seating them, which makes the governor’s role in the heavily followed race a pivotal one.
The race remains in limbo as the state Supreme Court deliberates Republican Norm Coleman’s challenge to the outcome. Pawlenty has indicated he may hold off certifying, should the court name Democrat Al Franken the winner and Coleman decides to take his case to the federal courts.
Pawlenty now risks less by siding with Coleman on the matter. However, it's likely the state Supreme Court will rule whether the governor must issue a certification when it rules on Coleman’s case, which could tie Pawlenty’s hands.
Donald McFarland, Minnesota state director of Americans United for Change, which has been pushing for Pawlenty to seat Franken, expressed concern the governor would now feel freer to delay the Senate seating process.
“ Tim Pawlenty ’s national political ambitions have become clear,” McFarland said in a statement. “Gov. Pawlenty, the Iowa caucuses can wait — the people of Minnesota need you now. ... We implore the governor to sign the election certificate should the Minnesota Supreme Court rule in Al Franken’s favor.”
With Pawlenty out of the running, the Republican party will have to turn to fresh blood to try and hold the seat in 2010. Jacobs said the timing of Pawlenty’s decision will allow plenty of time “to regroup around another set of candidates.”
Entrepreneur Brian Sullivan, who lost to Pawlenty in the 2002 Republican primary for governor, is one name that has been circulated as possible candidate if the governor bowed out. Other Republicans in the legislature would also make likely candidates, including state House Minority Leader Marty Seifert.
And Jacobs cited Laura Brod as an upcoming member of the state House who could mount a statewide run.
Republican Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau said at Pawlenty’s press conference that it was “highly unlikely” that she would run for governor.
The Democratic Governor’s Association, meanwhile, put out a release Tuesday declaring the Minnesota governor’s race is now a “high priority.”
“With Pawlenty leaving his budget mess for Minnesotans just so he can entertain his national ambitions, Republicans will have an uphill fight to continue his legacy,” predicted DGA Executive Director Nathan Daschle.
The Democratic field is already crowded with gubernatorial hopefuls. State Sen. John Marty, who made a previous run for governor, and former state Rep. Matt Entenza confirmed in April that they will be running in next year’s race. Six others are confirmed or likely candidates: former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, state Sen. Tom Bakk, state Rep. Paul Thissen, former state Sen. Steve Kelley, Ramsey County Attorney General Susan Gaertner and perennial candidate Ole Savior.
Minnesota House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher is also mulling a bid.
The popular Democratic mayors of Minnesota’s Twin Cities — R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis and Chris Coleman of St. Paul — would rise to the top of the party’s pack should they enter the race for governor. But both face re-election campaigns in 2009 and are unlikely to decide on the governor’s race until late in the year.
First posted June 2, 2009 1:58 p.m.
Comments
The "Romney Maneuver" (aka the cowards way out) didn't work too well Romney. It just made him look weak. Afterall, if you can't get reelected to your current job.....
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