Governorships
Pawlenty on the Rebound? Governor’s Approval Rating Reaches Highest Mark in 2009
Now more than two months removed from a brutal budget battle with the DFL, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has seen his approval numbers rise to its highest level this year, according to SurveyUSA’s latest ‘snapshot in time.’ Pawlenty’s approval rating…
Read More26 Days and Counting: Why Norm Coleman Isn’t Talking 2010
When former U.S. Senator Norm Coleman ended his 2008 election battle last month, he surprised many journalists by answering the inevitable question about whether he would run for governor with a more detailed answer than expected. Coleman first stated on…
Read MoreWhat Will Be the ‘Obama Effect’ on the 2010 Minnesota Gubernatorial Race?
The recent news of Barack Obama’s sliding approval ratings across key battleground states (e.g. Ohio, Virginia) as well as the nation (e.g. Gallup, Rasmussen) has raised the question as to what effect a potentially less popular (if not unpopular) President…
Read MoreWhy Doesn’t Amy Klobuchar Run for Governor?
Despite overwhelming success in federal and state elections during the past few decades, the DFL may have missed its best chances (in 1998, 2006) to win a gubernatorial election in the Gopher State. Excluding gubernatorial contests, the DFL has won…
Read MorePawlenty Unallotment Strategy, Decision Not to Run in 2010 Have Little Impact on Approval Ratings
Just as Tim Pawlenty’s announcement that he would use an unallotment strategy to resolve the state’s budget crisis had little impact on his approval ratings in late May, his decision to not seek a third term as Minnesota’s Governor also…
Read MoreHow Do We Judge Governor Pawlenty’s Political Legacy?
As Tim Pawlenty completes the remaining 18+ months of his second term, before venturing into (politically or financially) greener pastures, he has vowed to “Continue to spend every day doing what’s right for them. Minnesota will get my very best…
Read MoreFrom T-Paw to J-Ram: Is Jim Ramstad the GOP’s Answer in 2010?
Tim Pawlenty’s decision Tuesday not to seek an unprecedented third 4-year term as Governor of the Gopher State not only emboldened the candidacies of the long list of DFLers already on the campaign trail, but also raised the issue as…
Read MoreGovernor Pawlenty: Good for Minnesota Twins Baseball?
While Tim Pawlenty struggles to deal with soaring budget deficits and historic rates in the increase of unemployment statewide, there is at least one positive issue he can take to the electorate should he seek an unprecedented third four-year term…
Read MorePawlenty Delivers on Veto Pledge; Override Season Opens
Governor Tim Pawlenty’s veto this weekend of a legislative bill (HF 885, SF 681) that would raise approximately $1 billion in revenue through income and alcohol taxes and a surtax on credit card companies, marked the official opening of Override…
Read MorePawlenty Disapproval Rating Rises For 5th Straight Month in SurveyUSA Polling
A few days ago, Smart Politics went into great detail to explain why the latest Star Tribune poll results did not provide persuasive evidence that Governor Tim Pawlenty was flirting with danger in terms of his statewide approval rating. That…
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