Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty reportedly told supporters via conference call this morning that he is ending his campaign for the Republican nominaiton for president.
NBC News’ Chuck Todd and Politico’s Jonathan Martin both tweeted out this morning that Pawlenty had announced he will exit the race. Todd explained: “The issue for Pawlenty: he was out of money and had set up a campaign structure that relied on conventional funding.”
Pawlenty was having trouble raising money before his third place finish in Saturday’s Ames Straw Poll, an outcome he spent more than $1 million trying to achieve. With Texas Gov. Rick Perry entering the race, there simply was no way he could credibly sell himself to donors as the only electable alternative to frontrunner Mitt Romney.
