Just days after saying he’d postpone any decision about his political future until later this summer, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will announce today that he won’t seek a third term next year.Pawlenty has seen declining support from Minnesotans, as Marc Ambinder points out:
57% of Minnesotans say they’d be open to someone else as governor, a sign that Pawlenty, although still personally liked by the voters, has worn out his welcome. Fairly conservative on most issues, Pawlenty has taken centrist stands on environmental legislation and health care; he is very frustrated with the tone his party has adopted; if, at some point before 2012, he decides to retire from politics altogether, I wouldn’t be surprised.
But the decision is not just about local popularity. Pawlenty is also known to harbor presidential ambitions in 2012 or 2016, a difficult campaign for the sitting governor of Minnesota.Read more at the New York Times.