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Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is speaking to the Iowa GOP on Saturday.

(CNN) – It may be two years and two months until the next Iowa caucuses, but if you're considering a run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, it's never to early to visit the Hawkeye State.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is the keynote speaker Saturday at the Iowa GOP's annual leadership dinner in Des Moines. The function is one of two major events for the state's Republican Party. And as the fundraiser's main attraction, Pawlenty invites more speculation about a run for the White House.

The next day Mike Huckabee returns to Iowa. The former Arkansas governor and 2008 Republican presidential candidate visits on Sunday to promote his new holiday themed book, "A Simple Christmas: Twelve Stories that Celebrate the True Holiday Spirit."

Now a Fox News talk show host, Huckabee has returned to Iowa several times since his win in the 2008 caucuses, most recently to raise money for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats.

On Tuesday, George Pataki returns to Iowa to help raise money for the GOP. The former New York governor will be the keynote speaker at the Scott County Republican's Ronald Reagan Dinner. Pataki's visit could fuel speculation that he's interested in making a run for his party's presidential nomination in 2012. Pataki spent a lot of time in Iowa during the early stages of the last presidential election cycle, but opted not to become a candidate.

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George Pataki is backing Hoffman over the Republican Party's choice.

(CNN) - George Pataki has endorsed third-party conservative Doug Hoffman over Republican Dede Scozzafava in New York's special congressional race, making the three-term former governor the latest high profile Republican to weigh in against his party's choice.

In a statement released Thursday night, Pataki suggested electing the moderate Scozzafava could amount to giving "another vote to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid."

"Doug Hoffman will stand up to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. He will fight for all the residents of northern New York," Pataki said. "He will fight for our proud servicemen and women at Fort Drum, our dairy farmers in Lowville and our manufacturers in Plattsburgh."

While GOP party leaders are standing firmly behind Scozzafava, several Republicans have aligned themselves with Hoffman in recent weeks, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. A handful of Republican members of Congress have also backed Hoffman.

There's speculation Pataki is considering a run for Senate in 2010, though the New York Republican has given no indication one way or the other whether he is considering a bid.

NEW YORK (CNN) – Former New York Gov. George Pataki wouldn't say Monday if he is interested in challenging Kirsten Gillibrand for her U.S. Senate seat next year - but didn't rule it out, either.

Asked if he's considering a bid, a coy Pataki wouldn't go any further than: "People have talked to me about a lot of different things."

Pataki's comments came as he was giving the Republican National Committee's response Monday to President Barack Obama's economic speech at Hudson Community College in Troy, New York.

A recent Marist College poll of New York State voters suggests that Pataki leads Gillibrand 48 percent to 44 percent in a hypothetical matchup in next year's Senate race. Pataki's lead in the survey is within the poll's sampling error.

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