Pawlenty fails to show any traction in national polls

Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty has been actively testing the presidential waters for nearly two years. His latest walk on the national stage, ostensibly designed to promote his book Courage to Stand, has included visits to national programs such as Morning Joe, The Daily Show and The View.

But according to a pair of new national polls, Pawlenty still barely registers in surveys looking at who Republicans want to see on the ballot in 2012. The latest poll by The Washington Post found him to be the top pick of just 2 percent of Republican-leaning respondents. That’s actually down 2 percent from Pawlenty’s standing in a similar poll taken 18 months earlier, when he was just starting to explore a presidential bid. The top pick in the latest WaPo survey? Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 26 percent.

Pawlenty fared only slightly better in a poll conducted by NBC and the Wall Street Journal. He was the top choice of 5 percent of respondents, placing him sixth in the potential GOP presidential field. The top choice in that survey was former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at 19 percent.

Pawlenty is expected to make an announcement about his 2012 plans in the coming months.