Minnesota Republicans reject former governor Tim Pawlenty as Democrats pick historic nominees
By Michael Scherer
August 15 at 12:17 AM
Minnesota Republicans decisively rejected the comeback bid of former governor Tim Pawlenty, a onetime kingmaker in state politics who proved unable to overcome his 2016 description of Donald Trump as “unhinged and unfit” for once boasting of grabbing women.
The surprise result was just the latest evidence of the president’s rising control over the Republican Party electorate and the waning power of veteran lawmakers, coming just a week after Trump’s endorsement helped Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach topple incumbent Gov. Jeff Colyer, who conceded the race Tuesday.
After conceding the race at a campaign rally Tuesday and throwing his support behind Johnson, Pawlenty spoke briefly with reporters.
“The Republican Party has shifted,” he said, according to a reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, who was in attendance. “It is the era of Trump, and I’m just not a Trump-like politician.”
In both cases, however, political observers said wins for the Trump movement in the summer would make it harder for Republicans to win the general election against Democrats in the fall.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/primary-elections-minnesota-wisconsin-vermont-connecticut/2018/08/13/94646364-9f29-11e8-8e87-c869fe70a721_story.html?utm_term=.2045605dd50a
