Support justice-driven, accurate and transparent news — make a quick donation to Truthout today!
Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, told supporters on a conference call Sunday morning that he is ending his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination after a disappointing third-place finish at the Iowa straw poll.
Mr. Pawlenty thanked his supporters in an early-morning call, two participants said, but acknowledged that he had decided overnight that his candidacy could not proceed.
Mr. Pawlenty, who had been weighing a presidential campaign for years, had developed a robust plan to win the party’s nomination. But his strategy did not take into account the rising popularity of a fellow Minnesotan, Representative Michele Bachmann, whose candidacy had overshadowed Mr. Pawlenty’s. He had staked his entire campaign around a strong finish at the Iowa straw poll, which he did not achieve.
Ms. Bachmann topped the straw poll on Saturday, edging out Representative Ron Paul of Texas. Mr. Pawlenty was a distant third.
It was an ironic and sudden end to the presidential candidacy of a former two-term governor, who had once talked about bypassing the straw poll. But a poor showing at a debate two months ago made him change his mind, associates said, and left him no choice but to throw everything into the straw poll.
On the morning conference call, a participant said, he did not say whether he intended to endorse another candidate.
Media that fights fascism
Truthout is funded almost entirely by readers — that’s why we can speak truth to power and cut against the mainstream narrative. But independent journalists at Truthout face mounting political repression under Trump.
We rely on your support to survive McCarthyist censorship. Please make a tax-deductible one-time or monthly donation.