Republican Pawlenty Asks Iowans To Examine Record
CLEAR LAKE, Iowa (AP) -- Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty says the prestige of the Iowa caucuses is riding on the experience of the winner chosen during the leadoff nominating contest next February.
The former Minnesota governor told about 50 Republican activists in Clear Lake, Iowa, on Wednesday that his two terms give him more experience than many rivals for the 2012 GOP nomination for president.
Pawlenty is making his first Iowa visit since a recent poll showed him with support from 6 percent of likely Republican Iowa caucus-goers. He's spent more than a year meeting GOP activists and setting up a campaign organization in Iowa.
Pawlenty also is to meet privately with party activists in Iowa Falls, and address a Story County Republican dinner in Ames. He's scheduled to campaign in Des Moines Thursday.
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