Former Minnesota GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty says he hasn’t ruled out running for political office again, though he says he has no interest in running for vice president.
"I'm going to take my name off the [vice presidential] list, so ... remove my name from the list," he said after a speech at the University of Minnesota, the
Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. "I went through it before with McCain,"
He was referring to 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain’s decision to choose Sarah Palin as his running mate over Pawlenty and others. It’s difficult to know whether Pawlenty should be taken at face value, as even candidates who are eager for the vice presidential slot almost always deny their interest, according to the Star Tribune.
It’s unclear how high Pawlenty would rank on presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s list of running mates. The Minnesotan has worked vigorously on Romney’s behalf after ending his own presidential bid in July. But many commentators label Pawlenty as boring, the Star Tribune reported.
Asked if he might run for the U.S. Senate or for governor in 2014, Pawlenty said, "I haven't ruled anything in or out."
He offered some interesting comments about the supporters of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, who has announced that he will give up active campaigning in the primaries.
"They're working hard, and so we want them to be part of the Republican team and the conservative coalition and the Romney effort. But it is going to take some time for them,” Pawlenty said. "This happens every generation. There's some insurgency group or candidate ... that threatens the established order, and over time that energy gets channeled in a constructive way."
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