Jeffrey A. Setaro» Tim Pawlenty

Breaking: Tim Pawlenty Drops Out of Presidential Race

Jeff — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 13:06:42 +0000

Fox News is reporting former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will end his bid for 2012 Republican presidential nomination after a disappointing third place finish in the Iowa straw poll.

No link yet, I’ll update this as soon as I have more.

Update: Ok here’s the Fox News story on Gov. Pawlenty’s withdrawal… The Associated Press has more here.

Personally, I’m a little disappointed to see Gov. Pawlenty withdraw this early in the race. I know many people like to minimize the importance of the Ames straw poll, but the fact is Gov. Pawlenty made sizable investment Iowa, he worked the ground game over a year, and poured most of his remaining campaign funds into this effort and still finished a distant third.

Frankly, I don’t see how he go back to potential donors after this and convince them to pour more money into an effort that hasn’t gained much traction.

Edit: A few random thoughts in no particular order:

As I said I’m sorry to see Gov. Pawlenty drop out this early in the race, but he always struck me as a bit of long shot and he never seemed generated the kind of buzz a presidential candidate needs.
I’m going to go out on limb with this, but I suspect Herman Cain may be the next to withdraw. Mr. Cain has generated enough buzz to keep his campaign going for a while longer, but his disappointing showing in the Ames Straw Poll makes me wonder if he’ll make it to the New Hampshire primary.
Former Senator Rick Santorum’s surprisingly good showing in Ames breathes new life into what seemed like a lost cause. It’s worth keeping an eye on him to see he can capitalize on his success in the Ames Straw Poll… He may turn out to be the campaigns new dark horse.
Sarah Palin, I think she’s running… If she is she has to make it official sooner rather than later. I won’t claim to speak for all of her supporters, but personally, I’m getting a little bored with all the flirting, if you’re running, quit screwing around and make it official… If not get off the stage and stop stealing the spotlight from the real candidates.

Rep. Michele Bachmann Wins Iowa Straw Poll

Jeff — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 23:46:42 +0000

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MN) won the 2011 Iowa straw poll with 28.55 percent of the vote, Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) finished second with 27.65 percent and former Minn. Gov. Tim Pawlenty finished a distant third 13.57 percent.

From the Wall Street Journal:

None of the 16,892 votes filed at Iowa State University in Ames will count toward the Republican nomination, but the straw poll is likely to separate the top contenders for the nomination from candidates unable to muster the organization or the passion to make a final charge.

Mrs. Bachmann garnered 4,823 votes. Mr. Paul was close behind with 4,671.

Mr. Pawlenty received 2,293 votes after pouring money and time into organizing for the contest.

Rick Santorum was fourth followed by Herman Cain. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who just announced his candidacy this afternoon received 718 write-in votes (3.6%) and finish ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Here’s the final numbers:

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (4823, 28.55%)
Congressman Ron Paul (4671, 27.65%)
Governor Tim Pawlenty (2293, 13.57%)
Senator Rick Santorum (1657, 9.81%)
Herman Cain (1456, 8.62%)
Governor Rick Perry (718, 3.62%) write-in
Governor Mitt Romney (567, 3.36%)
Speaker Newt Gingrich (385, 2.28%)
Governor Jon Huntsman (69, 0.41%)
Congressman Thad McCotter (35, 0.21%)

2012 Presidential Straw Poll — Round 3

Jeff — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 04:09:05 +0000

It’s time for round three of our 2012 Republican Presidential Primary Straw Poll.

The candidates in this round are (in no particular order): Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Haley Barbour, Tim Pawlenty, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, Mitch Daniels, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry, John Kasich, John Huntsman, John Bolton, Jeb Bush, Liz Cheney, Chris Christie, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain and Ron Paul.

Changes from round two:

I’ve added Jeb Bush, Liz Cheney, Chris Christie, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain and Ron Paul to the ballot.
I’ve removed John Thune and Mike Pence from the ballot since they’ve made it clear they’re not running.
I’ve removed the option of voting for “Other” from ballot, you still have the option of voting “Undecided” though.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

The results from round two are here.

2012 Republican Presidential Primary Straw Poll

Jeff — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 16:41:10 +0000

It’s time for round two of our 2012 Republican Presidential Primary Straw Poll.

The candidates are (in not particular order): Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Haley Barbour, Tim Pawlenty, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, John Thune, Mitch Daniels, Bobby Jindal, Mike Pence, Rick Perry, John Kasich, John Huntsman and John Bolton.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Poll Question: If the 2012 Republican Presidential Primary were being held today who would you vote for?

Jeff — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 19:31:24 +0000

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

I’m not crazy about Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee so they’re not even on my short list. I love Sarah Palin but I think she’s been to damaged by partisan attacks to be viable candidate… Ditto for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, he’s to much of a lighting rod.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal are both rising stars but I think they’re still a little “green” to be viable challengers in 2012. I don’t know enough about John Huntsman to make an informed judgment… That leaves Texas Gov. Rick Perry… He has proven record and most importantly he’s not on any of the media short lists.