Pawlenty To Nevada
MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) will be in Las Vegas late this month to headline a major annual gala in a key early pres. nominating state.
Pawlenty will headline the NV GOP's Lincoln Day Dinner on Feb. 27, the party announced today. It will be Pawlenty's first trip to the state as a potential WH contender, and the latest since he began raising his political profile last fall.
The speech will either be drowned out or amplified; Pres. Obama will be in Las Vegas for a fundraiser for Senate Maj. Leader Harry Reid. Pawlenty has spent months lambasting Obama for spending too much. Cable nets could love the contrast of the possible WH'12 rivals giving opposing speeches.
In a cheeky note on his Facebook page announcing the trip, Pawlenty took another jab at Obama, who earlier this week had to apologize for an apparently disparraging remark about Las Vegas.
"Governor Pawlenty will defy President Obama's orders and go to Vegas on February 27 for the Nevada GOP dinner. Goal is to replace Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid with a Senator who values the needs of Nevadans more than the partisan interests of his political party," the note on Pawlenty's Facebook page read.
So far, Pawlenty has hit events in IA and NH, and his PAC filed reports over the weekend showing he had raised $1.28M in the new group's first quarter. Pawlenty gave almost $17K to candidates during the quarter.