Tim Pawlenty regrets early end to his presidential campaign
Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty expressed regrets on Monday about how he ran -- and ended -- his presidential campaign, noting that "with the benefit of hindsight" he would have done things differently.
Speaking at a portrait unveiling in his honor at the Minnesota State Capitol, the former Republican presidential candidate said that "if I would have known then what I know now" he might have stayed in the race, according to the Associated Press.
But Pawlenty, who dropped out of the contest after a lackluster showing at the Iowa straw poll in August, said he had run out of resources. As he put it, he lacked the "additional chips to see the next card in the hand."
"We made some decisions that I think with the benefit of hindsight I would have done differently. I think if we had it to do over again, we would have probably metered out our resources lighter earlier so we could have made them last longer," Pawlenty said, according to Minnesota Public Radio. "Instead, we went for a more dramatic piece of progress in that early Iowa contest, and I think we should have made a different decision."
The Minnesota Republican was perceived as a strong contender for the GOP nomination going into the race, but he failed to pick up significant traction in the campaign's early months - and his place in the spotlight faded as fellow Minnesotan Michele Bachmann rose in prominence during that same timeframe.
Since his withdrawal from the race immediately following the Iowa straw poll, which Bachmann won, Pawlenty has endorsed former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination. According to the AP, he said Monday he is pursuing jobs in the private sector, but did not equivocally rule out a future political bid.
"I've got to believe there's another chapter for you somewhere. We'll see. Maybe not in politics," said his wife Mary Pawlenty at the ceremony, according to MPR. "But there is not only another chapter in his life, but he has so much that he has learned and I believe so much more to give."
