As speculation continues to grow that Tim Pawlenty intends to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, the former Minnesota governor addressed Republicans in the Florida Legislature Wednesday night about the reforms he passed in office.
Noting that Minnesota was the only state to back favorite son Walter Mondale over Ronald Reagan in the 1984 presidential election, Pawlenty pointed to his record in office, supporting tort reform, performance pay for teachers and fiscal restraint.
Linking the struggle to reform education to the civil rights movement, Pawlenty discussed Florida issues, praising the Legislature for pushing SB 6 in 2010, a measure reforming teacher performance pay. SB 6 was vetoed by then-Gov. Charlie Crist.
"I would've given a lot to have a bill like that on my desk, said Pawlenty to the legislators.
Taking questions from legislative leaders, Pawlenty said he opposes the federal health-care bill backed by President Barack Obama and supports the constitutional challenge launched by Florida against it. He also stated that he supports amending the U.S. Constitution to require a balanced federal budget. The former Minnesota governor also took aim at international issues and called for better border security.
Pawlenty is no stranger to the Sunshine State. During the 2010 campaign cycle, he toured Florida backing numerous Republican candidates for state and federal office through his Freedom First PAC. Pawlenty supported Rick Scotts gubernatorial ambitions as well as U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio and eight GOP congressional hopefuls.
First elected governor in 2002, Pawlenty won praise for balancing the states budget without raising taxes. While Democrats routed Republicans across the nation in the 2006 elections, Pawlenty held on to win a second term by the skin of his teeth -- beating back his challenger by less than 1 percent of the vote.
While Pawlenty made U.S. Sen. John McCains short list to be his running mate in 2008, he is not as well-known as several of his potential rivals in 2012. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee both ran for the presidential nomination in 2008. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin beat out Pawlenty to be McCains running mate and she may run in 2012. Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich is also considering running.
Other possible candidates include U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania who will be heading to Naples on Friday, former New York Gov. George Pataki, U.S. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, former Gov. Buddy Roemer of Louisiana, Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi, former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, political activist Fred Karger and businessman Herman Cain. Pawlenty may face a rival candidate from Minnesota in U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann who has expressed interest in launching a presidential bid.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
