Pawlenty to speak to Missouri Republicans

Gov. Tim Pawlenty
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty speaking at a Republican fundraising event in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday, Nov. 7.
MPR Photo/Tom Scheck

The Missouri Republican Party has announced that Gov. Pawlenty will speak in that state in February.

Pawlenty will give the keynote speech at the party's Lincoln Days dinner in St. Charles, Mo. on Feb. 26.

The party chair called Pawlenty a rising star in the GOP. Pawlenty has not ruled a run for president in 2012 and has formed a federal political action committee to help candidates in 2010.

Since he announced in June that he won't seek a third term, Pawlenty has visited 17 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and six foreign countries.

He's also scheduled for two other out-of-state speaking engagements in February, to the Alabama Republican Party and the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington D.C.

Pawlenty will make his trips at a time when the state faces a $1.2 billion budget deficit. He said in December that he would curtail his travel schedule during the legislative session to focus on the budget. The legislative session begins on February 4.