ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty today took another big step in the direction of running for governor in 2018.
The Republican filed paperwork with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, formally declaring he has established an exploratory committee to run for Governor. The actual announcement of a campaign probably won’t happen until April, according to sources closed to Pawlenty.
"I'm optimistic about Minnesota's future and understand how to deliver more accountable government and better jobs," Pawlenty said in a statement Monday. "As a two-term governor, I know what it takes to lead our state in the right direction at this pivotal moment in American history. I will make a final announcement soon.”
Speculation about a political comeback was fueled last month when the former two-term governor announced he was leaving his job at the Financial Service Roundtable, a Washington D.C. based banking and finance industry group. Pawlenty left politics in 2011, after a failed bid for the GOP nomination for president. He served as governor of Minnesota from 2003 to 2011, winning elections in 2002 and 2006.
Pawlenty carries the distinction of being the last Minnesota Republican to win a statewide race. Democrats control all of the constitutional offices, and both US Senate seats.
Pawlenty has taken criticism from the current frontrunner in the race, Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson, who carried the party banner in 2014 but lost to Mark Dayton. Johnson has said that he has a better shot at the party’s endorsement, and has accused Pawlenty of relying on his national fundraising prowess to compete in the August primary.
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement, following Pawlenty's announcement:
“It’s simple: Tim Pawlenty is not the kind of leader Minnesota needs right now. Our state is heading in the right direction thanks to Governor Dayton’s principled leadership, and the last thing we need right now is a return to the disastrous policies of Tim Pawlenty.”
