(Image source: Politico)
BY NICOLE THOMPSON
ANCHOR EMILY SPAIN
You're watching multisource politics news analysis from Newsy.
Former presidential candidate and Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty has announced-- he is endorsing former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in the GOP race for 2012.
TIM PAWLENTY, FORMER MINNESOTA GOVERNOR: “The next president is gonna have to lead on the economy and jobs in a historic way, and there’s one candidate in this race who is unmatched in his skills, and experience and talent when it comes to turning around this economy and growing jobs, and that’s Mitt Romney, and I’m proud and excited to endorse him for president of the United States.”
Pawlenty will hop on the Romney train as the campaign’s national co-chair.
But Romney’s been trailing Texas Governor Rick Perry in the polls, and CNN says this may be good news for the former Massachusetts governor.
JIM ACOSTA: “If Mitt Romney was looking for a spark to help his campaign, he may have gotten it this morning. Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty has announced through the Romney campaign that he is getting behind the former Massachussets governor, so that is good news for Mitt Romney.”
But the move is raising a few eyebrows.
Earlier in the campaign, also on Fox News, Pawlenty coined the term “Obamney care” -- taking a shot at the health care law Romney backed as governor of Massachusetts.
“The president's own words that he patterned in large measure Obamacare after what happened in Massachusetts. What I don't understand they both continue to defend it.”
This fact made the endorsement both surprising, and not-so-surprising for some on MSNBC.
THOMAS ROBERTS, MSNBC: “Would you have expected T-Paw to endorse Romney after hitting him so hard on health care earlier in the campaign?”
MARK MURRAY, NBC DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: “Well, it’s not all that surprising given that, when Pawlenty had the opportunity to attack Romney on healthcare, he didn’t do it all that aggressively. He had that prime opportunity back at that June New Hampshire debate and refused to do so.”
But the move still has the chance to translate into financial and political capitol for Romney. A New York Times blogger writes:
“Many of Mr. Pawlenty’s contributors and supporters had been waiting for a signal from him in the escalating contest between Mr. Romney and Mr. Perry. And Mr. Pawlenty had been looking for help in retiring a campaign debt of at least $500,000.”
Despite all the speculation, others, like CNBC’s John Harwood, think Pawlenty’s endorsement may mean nothing at all.
HOST, CNBC: “Does that help Romney catch up to any of these numbers that Rick Perry is putting up lately?”
JOHN HARWOOD, CNBC: “Not a lot. If you look at what Tim Pawlenty had before he left the race, he was very very low in the polls and he’d still be in the race if he had a lot of juice.”
Transcript by Newsy
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