Current Governor
Minnesota – Tim Pawlenty (R)
Summary
Governor Tim Pawlenty will not seek a third term. Pawlenty told reporters he would not run again, after vowing to single-handedly balance a $3 billion budget hole by cutting services and waiting to certify the winner of the U.S. Senate race between Al Franken and Norm Coleman.
Recap
Pawlenty was first elected in 2002 and was reelected in 2006, earning less than 50 percent of the vote in both cases. In a May 2009 Survey USA Poll, 57 percent of Minnesotans said Pawlenty should not run for a third term in 2010.
State of Play
- President Obama earned 54 percent of the vote in 2008.
- Democrats won both of the state’s Senate seats in the 2008 election.
Lineup
- Democrat Mark Dayton, former U.S. Senator
- Republican Tom Emmer, former State Representative
