SALON

Saturday, Aug 11, 2012 10:45 PM UTC

Pawlenty stumps for Romney as Ryan named No. 2

By

Topics: From the Wires,

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty kept right on campaigning for Mitt Romney after he was passed over once again as a vice presidential candidate on Saturday, praising pick Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as a “bold thinker” and vowing to do “all I can” to help the Republican ticket win.

It was the second time in four years that Pawlenty wasn’t chosen as a running mate. John McCain went with Sarah Palin in 2008, and Pawlenty went to the Minnesota State Fair and back to his gubernatorial duties.

Those close to Pawlenty said he has a variety of options for what he wants to do next — return to politics, end up in a Romney cabinet position or stay in business.

But on Saturday, the onetime presidential candidate continued his work as one of Romney’s top lieutenants. Pawlenty made campaign appearances in New Hampshire, including a Young Republican convention, door-to-door canvassing and an ice cream social. He will also appear on Sunday morning talk shows.

“I am excited about a Romney-Ryan ticket and look forward to doing all I can to help them win this election,” Pawlenty said in a statement.

Pawlenty said Romney called him Monday night to let him know he wasn’t it. But Pawlenty didn’t let on publicly until late Friday, when the Romney campaign announced that its decision would be unveiled Saturday.

Pawlenty’s loyalty points toward a political future that could include running for U.S. Senate or again for governor in Minnesota — both offices are on the ballot in 2014 — or a post in a Romney administration. The 51-year-old attorney also might stay in the business world after joining multiple corporate boards since he ended his presidential run last year.

“He’s young and got experience. He is nationally known. I think the world is open in front of him,” said Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., who had been pulling for Pawlenty as Romney’s running mate.

Longtime Pawlenty aide Brian McClung said Pawlenty wasn’t looking for the running mate job, and Pawlenty confidant Charlie Weaver said Pawlenty was “upbeat” when they were in touch Saturday.

Weaver said he would expect Pawlenty’s work for the Romney-Ryan ticket to continue up to the November election, and the fact that Romney and McCain both considered Pawlenty for the No. 2 job showed that he is a top talent in the Republican Party.

“He believes strongly in his values and his vision for the country and that’s just the kind of guy that Pawlenty is,” said Weaver, who served as Pawlenty’s gubernatorial chief of staff. “He’s loyal to his friends and it doesn’t surprise me at all that he’s out door-knocking today.”

Pawlenty served eight years as Minnesota’s governor, leaving office just last year after cultivating a reputation as the state’s most conservative chief executive. Pawlenty spent much of 2011 running for the GOP nomination for president, but his campaign sputtered and he was panned for being too dull for the national stage.

Soon after leaving the race, he endorsed the former Massachusetts governor and became a loyal pitchman. While campaigning for Romney in working-class areas of the country, Pawlenty highlighted his blue-collar roots, showing an economic empathy that is difficult for the multimillionaire Romney to project.

Pawlenty’s evangelical faith is also a plus among social conservatives. He was raised Catholic but began attending an evangelical megachurch during his courtship with his wife.

Weaver, who heads the Minnesota Business Partnership, said Pawlenty could fill the roles of trade representative, attorney general or cabinet secretary in a Romney administration — but says Pawlenty isn’t angling for those jobs.

Republican strategist Ben Golnik said Pawlenty would be formidable if he decided to jump back into Minnesota politics to challenge Democratic Sen. Al Franken or Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton in 2014.

“Governor Pawlenty is greatly enjoying his work in the private sector, but he’s also keeping his options open when it comes to a possible run for office in the future,” McClung said.

___

Associated Press writer Brian Bakst in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

More Martiga Lohn.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: So long, Sookie Stackhouse

Recommendations