Public Policy Polling, a firm with ties to Democrats, released a poll this week that showed President Barack Obama maintaining a healthy lead in Minnesota over possible Republican candidates.
While Minnesota was a battleground state in 2000 and 2004, Obama won there big in 2008. The poll of 949 Minnesota residents found Obama beating former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee by 10 points, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich by 13 points and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin by 18 points. Which Republican does the best against Obama in the North Star State? Its former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- and not outgoing Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Obama led Romney by 5 points in the poll and Pawlenty by 8 points Speaking of Pawlenty, he kicks off a book tour for his new release Courage to Stand: An American Story and will be hitting a number of key states -- including Iowa, New Hampshire and Florida -- to promote it With his eyes clearly on competing for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania heads back to Iowa on Wednesday and Thursday, making this the eighth time he has visited Iowa this year. He will meet with members of the Quad City Tea Party on Wednesday night
Consumer advocate and frequent presidential candidate Ralph Nader predicted that Obama would face a challenger in the Democratic primary after agreeing to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts backed by George W. Bush for all Americans. While Nader said he is open to running yet again for the presidency, he would prefer to see someone else challenge Obama. So far the only Democrat to express serious interest was former U.S. Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska who sought both the Democratic and Libertarian nominations in 2008 ... Obama is clearly looking to reach out and get Democrats behind him on taxes -- and for 2012. Obama met Friday with former President Bill Clinton who found himself in a similar situation to the current president after the 1994 elections In the meantime, Prof. James K. Galbraith, a vice president of venerable liberal group Americans for Democratic Action, called on progressives to back a third-party candidate instead of Obama in 2012. Galbraith is the son of John Kenneth Galbraith, and like his father is an economics professor
Roll Call reported that U.S. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota is getting advice from allies in the Beltway on whether or not to seek the Republican presidential nod in 2012. Thune won the praise of a number of leading Washington Republicans -- including U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona and conservative favorite U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina Asked about which candidates he liked in 2012 in an interview with the Washington Post, the always colorful U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., offered some dark horses for the Republican nomination: Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton continues to keep the door open to running for the presidency. Bolton touched base on a number of issues in an interview with National Review published on Wednesday
Donald Trump continues to insist that he is considering running for president in 2012. Trump has dabbled in presidential politics before, throwing his name out for the Reform Partys nomination in 2000 before deciding not to take a shot at it. The Reform Party, which backed Ross Perot in 1996, eventually nominated Pat Buchanan in 2000 ... Oddsmaker Wayne Allyn Root, who was former U.S. Rep. Bob Barrs vice presidential candidate back in 2008, hammered Obamas economic policies in an op-ed published by Newsmax. While Root has said he has not made a final decision on whether he will seek the White House, he is one of the leading candidates for the Libertarian Partys presidential nomination in 2012 ... The conservative Constitution Party has had a history of trying to lure prominent figures to run as its partys presidential nominee over the years. There was speculation that Pat Buchanan, former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore and former U.S. Sen. Bob Smith of New Hampshire would run as the Constitution Party candidate, but they never did. Former Ambassador Alan Keyes, who ran for the Republican presidential nominations in 1996, 2000 and 2008, and against Obama for the U.S. Senate seat in Illinois back in 2004, sought the Constitution Party nod in 2008 only to come up short. There are two former congressmen currently active with the Constitution Party -- former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo who just ran for governor of Colorado and former U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode of Virginia. Look for the buzz to start building that either Tancredo, who made a brief run for the Republican nomination in the last cycle, or Goode will be interested in taking aim at the White House in 2012.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
