For elected officials, revolving doors spin very easily one way — from the public trust to the private sector. Spinning the other way, there’s a little more friction.
Tim Pawlenty believes he can overcome that friction. The politician-turned-Wall Street-lobbyist wants to become a politician again. After serving two terms as Minnesota governor and six years as CEO of the Financial Services Roundtable, or FSR, Pawlenty announced a new bid for his old job. He is running for governor again.
Not only has Pawlenty made the race to replace Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton competitive — Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball now rates the contest as a tossup — Pawlenty has raised a significant political question. Can the swamp really win in 2018?
Like everyone else in Minnesota, Pawlenty seems nice enough. But his resume drips with swamp sludge. He branded himself a “Sam’s Club Republican” during his short-lived 2012 presidential bid before heading to K Street to represent Wall Street in Washington. Under his leadership, FSR lobbied for taxpayer subsidies and favorable tax changes for banks.
Come November, the electorate will decide whether to award a lobbyist with the keys to the governor’s mansion. This sort of thing has happened before.
Haley Barbour went from running the Republican National Convention in 1993 to running one of the pre-eminent lobbying shops in D.C. to running for Mississippi governor in 2003. He served two terms before returning to lobbying. Something similar happened with Ed Gillespie who mounted an unsuccessful bid for Virginia governor after his lobbying career and lost just last year. Dan Coats of Indiana went from senator to lobbyist back to senator before joining the Trump administration.
Navigating the intersection of politics and special interest got Pawlenty his job on K Street. He wouldn’t be the successful lobbyist he is today without two terms as governor under his belt. It remains to be seen whether his lobbying career can put him back in political power.
