Tim Pawlenty Goes Down In Minnesota GOP Gubernatorial Primary

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty introduces republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, at his campaign stop at the Rochester Opera House in Rochester, N.H., Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012.(AP ... Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty introduces republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, at his campaign stop at the Rochester Opera House in Rochester, N.H., Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012.(AP Photo/ Donald Traill) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

County Commissioner Jeff Johnson has beaten former Gov. Tim Pawlenty in Minnesota’s Republican primary for governor, derailing Pawlenty’s bid to reclaim his old job.

Johnson won Tuesday despite Pawlenty’s enormous fundraising and name recognition advantages. He also won despite his own history as the party’s losing candidate for governor four years ago.

Johnson positioned himself as a more conservative candidate than Pawlenty. He branded the former two-term governor as part of the “status quo” and bashed him for calling Trump “unhinged and unfit for the presidency” in the weeks leading up to the 2016 election.

Pawlenty was hoping to resurrect his political career after flaming out as a presidential candidate in 2011. He spent the intervening years as a Washington lobbyist.

Latest News
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: