2012 presidential candidate eyes return
Pawlenty could run for Franken’s Senate seat
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Long ago, in a seemingly distant political universe, Tim Pawlenty was a fresh-faced Republican star with blue-collar appeal and presidential prospects.
Now, the former Minnesota governor is a high-powered banking lobbyist, and he’s eyeing a climb back onto the national stage.
An unexpected Senate election next year, created by Democrat Al Franken’s resignation after sexual harassment allegations, has created the opening. Some GOP power players are looking expectantly at Pawlenty as their best chance to take a Senate seat in a Democratic-leaning state with an unorthodox streak. A comeback bid could test whether a mild-mannered, establishment Republican and once-vocal critic of President Donald Trump fits into the Trump-era GOP.
“Ideology is going to trump a lot of other things, always, in a Republican convention. But they also are looking for someone who has the fire in the belly,” Minnesota Republican operative Annette Meeks said. “I think Republicans are looking at it like this: We’ve got to win.”
Pawlenty, 57, has said he is “reflecting” on the Senate race, 11 years since he last ran in Minnesota and six years since his short-lived presidential campaign fizzled. Since then, he’s split his time between Washington, heading the financial industry’s top lobbying group, and his home in Eagan, Minnesota.
While publicly insisting he’s “politically retired,” he had already been weighing a return to public office, including the governorship next year or the Senate in 2020, former Minnesota House Speaker Steve Sviggum said.
“The governor has that feeling in his stomach, that feeling in his gut about further public service,” Sviggum said, recalling a recent lunch with Pawlenty.
Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton last week appointed Democratic Lt. Gov. Tina Smith to fill Franken’s seat until a special election next November. Republican state Sen. Karin Housley, a real estate agent and wife of an NHL hockey coach, announced Tuesday that she was running. No Democrats have immediately stepped forward to challenge Smith.
Today, the “embarrassment” of Franken requires Pawlenty’s seriousness, said Republican former Sen. Norm Coleman, whom Franken narrowly beat in 2008.
The surprise Minnesota race is a gift for Republicans, whose twoseat Senate majority was halved by Alabama Democrat Doug Jones’ win in last week’s special election. It’s a new headache for Democrats, who already faced defending 23 seats next year, including 10 in states Trump carried.