Updated at 12:50 p.m.

By Rachel E. Stassen-Berger

At the Iowa State Fair, former governor Tim Pawlenty said he would have to "retrench" his campaign if he doesn't do well in Saturday's Iowa Straw Poll.

He said he was "confident" that he would move from the back of the pack toward the front, but if that doesn't happen he may have to rethink his campaign.
At the State Fair, while flipping burgers and surrounded by reporters, the governor joked and seemed jovial but was also well aware of the high stakes for his struggling campaign this weekend.

Pawlenty said he felt good about his Thursday debate performance, which was alternatively praised and panned for his aggressive attacks on Michele Bachmann.

The governor, who said he and Bachmann have never been close friends, said he needed to point out his results, which he compared to her flashy speeches.

At one point, as he was flipping pork burgers, the governor asked a reporter how the they looked. The reporter said they looked done, then asked if he would be done if he doesn't do well on Saturday.

"That's good. That's good," he responded with a laugh.

But he did not confirm or deny his doneness.

Some Minnesota Pawlenty fans have recently wondered if the former governor should return to Minnesota and run against Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar. That, Pawlenty said when asked, will not happen.

"I won't be running against Klobuchar in 2012," he said.

As he wandered through the State Fair several folks walked up to greet him or congratulate him on his Thursday debate performances. But not all were fans.

"Thanks for bankrupting the state," a man said to the former governor as he breezed by.