Pawlenty still not gaining traction with GOP voters in Iowa

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Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty is the top pick of 4 percent of Iowa Republicans to be the party’s 2012 presidential nominee, according to a new survey released by Public Policy Polling. When likely GOP voters are pressed to name their second choice, Pawlenty is the pick of 5 percent of those surveyed.

Pawlenty has made five visits to Iowa over the last 18 months as he weighs a presidential bid. He’s slated to return to the state later this month for a pair of events promoting his new book, “Courage to Stand.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won the Iowa caucuses in 2008, is the top pick of Republican voters, garnering support from 30 percent of those surveyed. He’s trailed by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (18 percent), former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (15 percent) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (13 percent).

The PPP survey wasn’t all bad news for Pawlenty. Just 12 percent of those surveyed indicated that they had an unfavorable opinion of him, while 34 percent expressed a favorable view. The majority, however, didn’t know enough about Pawlenty to hold an opinion one way or the other.

The survey of 494 usual Republican primary voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.