Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty today ratcheted up his push to win the Iowa Straw Poll next month –- and more importantly the caucuses next winter –- with the launch of a new television ad and the announcement that Mike Huckabee's daughter Sarah Huckabee Sanders has signed on to his campaign.
Huckabee Sanders will serve as a senior political adviser leading the campaign's work on the Iowa Straw Poll that will be held in Ames in August, a key part of Pawlenty's effort to win the Hawkeye State caucuses.
“Sarah is a results-oriented person with a great track record in Iowa and around the country,” Pawlenty said in a statement this afternoon. “We are very excited Sarah is joining our team just as we are hitting our stride in Iowa.”
Four years ago Huckabee Sanders was her father's national political director when he won the Iowa caucuses.
“I’m delighted to join the Governor and First Lady in Iowa, which holds a special place in my heart,” she said. “It’s clear to me that Gov. Pawlenty has what it takes to unite the party, unite the country and beat President Obama.”
Pawlenty is planning to spend the better part of July in Iowa -- starting later this week -- as he attempts to gain momentum ahead of Ames. His campaign announced Friday afternoon that they had raised $4.2 million during the second quarter, with an undisclosed portion of that money for the general election should the former Minnesota governor secure the GOP nomination.
In another move to boost his momentum in Iowa, Pawlenty today hit the airwaves with his second television ad.In the spot, Pawlenty touts his role in Minnesota’s government shutdown six years ago.
"Minnesota government shutdown. Why? Because Tim Pawlenty would not accept Democrats’ massive tax and spending demands. Result: Pawlenty won," the ad boasts.
Minnesota’s state government shut down once again at the end of last Thursday and the stalemate is still ongoing.Just before the shutdown began, Pawlenty urged his fellow Republicans in the North Star State not to yield to the Democrats, led by Gov. Mark Dayton, who want to solve the state’s $5 billion budget deficit by raising taxes on the rich.
"We have to get government spending under control. The Democrats won't do it. I applaud the Republicans for standing strong and encourage them to keep standing strong," Pawlenty said in a brief press conference.
In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, Pawlenty responded to a bipartisan committee formed by former Vice President Walter Mondale and former governor Arne Carlson by criticizing the two elder statesmen from Minnesota, reiterating his support of the GOP legislature, and again touting his record.
"Walter Mondale ran for president against Ronald Reagan on a platform that called for higher taxes. Arne Carlson supported John Kerry, Barack Obama and other Democrats. It should surprise no one that they both support more spending and higher taxes in Minnesota,” he said. “We did it the right way for the last eight years, with dramatically lower spending and tax cuts. I commend the Republicans in the Legislature for sticking to their guns, even when politicians of the past call for old-fashioned high tax and spend solutions. The last budget on my watch ended last week with a positive balance. The projected deficit for the upcoming two years is based on large projected spending increases, which I never would have allowed as governor. Minnesota government is shutdown because of Democrats' insistence on Obama-esque solutions to increase spending and raise taxes."
The Democratic National Committee responded to the new Pawlenty ad by stating that the GOP candidate did not shut down the government six years ago because of a desire to cut taxes, but rather because he wanted to raise taxes on cigarettes.