Pawlenty touts Iowa endorsements as Bachmann launches campaign
WASHINGTON - Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty's presidential campaign fired off a list of Iowa lawmakers who endorsed him campaign just two hours after Rep. Michele Bachmann formally kicked off her presidential run at a highly-publicized event in Bachmann's birthplace of Waterloo, Iowa.
Ten current legislators from both chambers of the Iowa's legislature have signed on as members of Pawlenty's camp, a development Pawlenty said "bolsters my Iowa campaign's efforts to build successful coalitions in this important state."
The two Minnesotans see Iowa as a must-win state on the path to the Republican presidential nomination but Bachmann appears to have captured the imagination of Iowans, drawing 22 percent support in a closely-watched poll, just 1 percentage point behind presumptive front-runner Mitt Romney. Pawlenty lagged far behind, registering support from just 6 percent of those polled.
Pawlenty has also upped his advertising campaign in state, launching a series of radio ads across the state today with the slogan "results, not rhetoric," which seems like a dig against Bachmann, whose legislative achievements in the U.S Congress have been scant despite her many television and tea party rally appearances.
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