(CNN) – A new poll suggests Minnesotans don't want their two term governor to run for the White House in 2012. But if Tim Pawlenty does win the next GOP presidential nomination, a Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune survey released Tuesday says about half those questioned would consider voting for him.
The poll indicates that 30 percent of Minnesota voters want Pawlenty to make a bid for the presidency, with 55 percent saying they don't want him to run. But if Pawlenty does run for the White House and ends up winning the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, one out of four say there's a good chance they'd vote for him, with another one in four saying there was at least some chance they'd cast a ballot for their current governor. According to the survey, 43 percent said there was no chance they'd vote for Pawlenty for president.
Pawlenty's announcement earlier this year that he would not run next year for a third term as Minnesota governor was considered by many political analysts to be a sign that he's considering a bid for the White House. Since then, Pawlenty has been very visible, speaking out against the Obama Administration and appearing at a number of Republican and conservative conferences. He also became vice chairman of the Republican Governors Association.
Pawlenty adviser Alex Conant tells CNN it's far too premature to discuss 2012 and says Pawlenty is focusing on finishing his term as governor and helping elect conservatives in 2010.
But Conant added "the fact that half of the voters in a liberal leaning state like Minnesota would consider voting for a conservative like Pawlenty is a real testament to his strong record as governor."
The poll suggests that 49 percent of Minnesotans approve of the job Pawlenty's doing as governor. That's up slightly from earlier this year but down from a year ago, when his approval rating stood at 54 percent.
The Star Tribune survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International on September 21-24, with 1,000 Minnesota adults questioned by telephone. The poll's sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
From CNN Politics
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Please keep him in Minn. Minnesota has already sent a whack job to congress.
Please keep your politicians on a leesh
Thanks
Many Minnesotans – even Democrats – think he's doing a good job when he's in St. Paul. The problem is that he's traveling all over the country giving speeches, while the legislature is trying to do things like fund schools and balance the budget. If he runs for president, we'll probably vote for him, because we love it when our homegrown talent makes it big (we also voted for Humphrey and Mondale). However, if he wants to run for president, he should do what Sarah Palin did and resign, so that someone can attend to the pressing needs of Minnesotans. He probably needs to move to the right to be a viable candidate, and that won't jibe with the Democrat-controlled (and almost veto-proof) House and Senate.
Minnesotans are split between 1) wanting Pawlenty NOT to be president and 2) wanting Pawlenty, who has become unhinged recently as he panders to the crazies in the right wing base, NOT to be their governor anymore.
Tim Pawlenty should cover his head with a brown paper bag when he's walking around Minnesota. This will give you a picture of what he's done to a beautiful state. He gave it a George Bush Special.
Pawlenty stop wasting your time! you lost every election when the defacto leaders of GOP, hannity limbaugh and becks took over the party!. the more the open their baggy mouths the more they alienate the independent votes and I'm loving it!!
You know, this is getting ridiculous!
Instead of the Republicans putting party before country and doing everything they can to try to win an election that is still THREE YEARS AWAY:
They should be doing everything they can to help clean up the mess their party left us with after 8 disasterous years of Bush/Cheney and all of that Administration's reckless fiscal, economic, military and social policies!
It's just so obvious that all these Republican candidates care only about power and precious little about the people they are supposed to be representing.
MY GOD is that all the elected officials are concern about.....Winning the next election,....No wonder nothing is getting done and people are soooo turned OFF!!!!!
No thanks, Pawlenty . . .in case you haven't noticed, no one is interested in Bush #45.
And the should. he's going around talking about death panels and how health reform isn't a major issue my God don't he knows that people are going bankrupt over this issue.
All these Republicans that attempt to sling dirt at Obama will soon be buried in their own dirt. They can run but they can't hide, Pawlenty and Crist along with others in the GOP with the ambitions of running in 2012 will finish off the GOP when the truth comes out.
He will be beaten by Obama even in his own backyard!
Any state that would have Michelle Bachman as a representative and this clown as Govenor deserves what it gets...I hope he does run...Obama will beat anyone the Rethugs bring!!!
If the GOP would toss out the neocons and nominate Ron Paul in 2012, they could defeat Obama.
Unlike President Obama, who had the stamina, character, intelligence, discipline and ability to multi-task to run a successful campaign, none of these Republican early starters are going to make it over the next three years, in their pursuit of the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.
These Republicans – Pawlenty, Palin, Huckabee, Romney – are just paper tigers, airheads and empty suits who can't talk their way out of a paper bag, let alone have what it takes to lead our country.
All this fluff and nonsense from the Republicans is only going to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt just how pathetic the GOP "stars" really are.
he really has nothing to offer
Star Tribune poll? Hmmmm..... ! He has made MN a financial mess!!! Good Bye Pawlenty!!!
I don't care who they attempt tp push for 2012 , republicans have yet to get it !!! , I hope all of the upstanding citizens of America remember what has to our country over the last few months , and I'm not going to point fingers of who did what , just remember this people and CNN ,if we would have done what the republicans wanted a few months ago which was not to do anything about the banking system and the auto industry who do you think that would have hurted certainly not the republicans because they all have jobs , well paying jobs at that , but can you imagine the trickle down effect that would had on families? that would have been really distasterous ....so I really hope sensible people would realize this ....and for the record CNN do you read you own poles , when you put those dumb questions out there for people to answer ?
Senator Bahy, Senator Pawltney, Steele,.................................................
These politicians are not contributing to Health Care Reform!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He has already identified himself as belong to the right wing wacko stuff and that finishes him for my consideration.
Who, where's Jessie.
How do these figures equate Minnesotans being "split" about the idea? First question – 2:1 margin against. Second question – a little less than 2:1 for everyone with a definitive answer. Do CNN headliners know how to read polls?
Doesn't matter what the polls reflect or how they're split. The only way Pawlenty will ever see the WH is on a tour or when he some sort of l visit TO the sitting President!
Both he and FL's Crist are hacks.
I keep saying I hope T Paw does run for president so he can lose his own home state. How embarassing. He used to be a moderate conservative, but he has been spiraling into the realm of moonbat and it's actually kind of sad. And in response to Conant, it's actually kind of sad that only about half of Minnesotans would CONSIDER voting for their own governor to lead their country.
Split?
That's because Pawlenty is going down a Black Hole like the rest of the Republican Party.
Why don't the Repigs just nominate Rush? or Glenn? They're the Party Leaders after all!!
30% to 55% is not a split. Very misleading headline. It is nearly 2 to 1 against wanting Pawlenty's "bid" for the white house. Anymore great "polls" you want to grace us with? Jeez – do you EVER stop polling?