Pawlenty for Prez? Not so fast, says Rasmussen
October 16th, 2009 2:48 pm by DJ DAccording to a Rasmussen phone survey, Gov. Tim Pawlenty trails the field of GOP presidential hopefuls with less support than “some other candidate” and “undecided.”
Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Republican voters nationwide say former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is their pick to represent the GOP in the 2012 Presidential campaign. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that 24% prefer former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney while 18% would cast their vote for former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich gets 14% of the vote while Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty gets 4%. Six percent (6%) of GOP voters prefer some other candidate while 7% remain undecided.
My first thought was “Ah, well. It’s still early and ole’ T-Paw prolly still’s got plenty o time to build name recognition and gain support within the GOP base.”
He did lead the field in one category, though, and it unfortunately doesn’t appear Pawlenty’s problem is name recognition. While obviously not as well known as the rest of the candidates, 28 percent of respondents said T-Paw is the candidate they would least like to see on the the ballot.
The numbers for Huckabee and Romney look even stronger when GOP voters were asked which candidate they would least like to see get the nomination. Pawlenty came on top in that category with 28%. Palin was second at 21% while 20% named Gingrich. Romney and Huckabee were in the single digits with 9% and 8% respectively.
Tim Pawlenty: less popular than, ahem, Sarah Palin? I suppose it is early, but at this stage our lame duck, absentee governor might need to start managing expectations for his presidential ambitions.
Indeed, from his perch utop the Governor’s Mansion on Summit Avenue, perhaps T-Paw should, rather than aspiring to move to Washington, D.C., or even Iowa for the caucuses, look toward moving closer: his home in Eagan.