Tim Pawlenty
| Tim Pawlenty | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Governor of Minnesota From: January 6, 2003 - Present | |||
| Predecessor | Jesse Ventura | ||
| Successor | Incumbent (no successor) | ||
| Information | |||
| Party | Republican | ||
| Spouse(s) | Mary Pawlenty | ||
| Religion | Evangelical Christian | ||
Tim Pawlenty is the current Republican governor of the State of Minnesota. He was elected in 2002, taking the place of Jesse Ventura. Pawlenty has had high approval rating during his governorship[1]. He balanced the state budget without breaking his pledge not to raise taxes. He also improved education in the state. He was reelected in 2006, beating DFL candidate Mike Hatch in a close election.[2] Pawlenty was considered one of the main contenders for the Republican Vice Presidential spot John McCain in 2008.
Early Life
Tim Pawlenty was born on November 27, 1960, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Although he was raised as a Roman Catholic, he converted as an Evangelical Christian. His mother died of cancer when Pawlenty was 16. He was the only child in his family to graduate from college, where he earned a Political Science and Law Degree from the University of Minnesota, and later became a practicing attorney.
Political Career
Pawlenty was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1992, and reelected five times. In 1998, he was elected as the state House Majority Leader. In 2002, Pawlenty was the Republican nominee for Governor. He faced strong opposition from Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) state senator Roger Moe, and Independent candidate, former Congressman Tim Penny. Opinion polls showed the race tight, however he won the election by seven percentage points, mostly by winning voters in the suburbs of Minneapolis-St. Paul. As Governor, Pawlenty has balanced Minnesota's budget three times without raising taxes, despite facing record budget deficits. Governing as a fiscal conservative, he enacted a property tax cap and eliminated the marriage penalty. On November 30, 2005, a $701 million projected surplus was announced, the first budget surplus for the Minnesota state government since 2001. He proposed and signed into law welfare reform that requires able-bodied people to seek work.[3] Pawlenty was the chairman of the National Governors Association from 2007 to 2008.
Pawlenty describes himself as Pro-Life and supports overturning Roe v. Wade. On gun control he supports statewide background checks to carry firearms.[4]