Minnesota Lawyer
Gov. Tim Pawlenty still trails most of the other high-profile Republicans presumably gunning for the GOP’s presidential nomination in 2012, according to a new Public Policy Polling survey released Tuesday.
In the national survey of 400 typical Republican primary voters, Pawlenty saw the backing of just 5 percent of respondents. Sarah Palin (21 percent), Newt Gingrich (19 percent) and Mitt Romney (18 percent) found themselves in the top three spots in the poll, with Mike Huckabee a close fourth at 16 percent.
Pawlenty’s 5 percent showing matched that of Texas congressman and libertarian darling Ron Paul, although both men found themselves ahead of South Dakota Sen. John Thune and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels.
More than 10 percent are undecided or back another candidate. PPP also noted that Pawlenty’s presence most hurts Romney’s chances, as more than a third of his supporters would back the former Massachusetts governor if Pawlenty decided not to seek the nomination.
The margin of error was 4.9 percent.
