For the first time, Gov. Tim Pawlenty leads in a statewide 2012 GOP presidential primary poll.
It helps when he's governor of the state being polled.
But despite Pawlenty's name recognition in Minnesota — a factor that has him in single digits pretty much everywhere else — Pawlenty only gets 19 percent support matched up against former Govs. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Sarah Palin of Alaska and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Pawlenty leads Palin by just a single percentage point, as she came in behind the Minnesota governor with 18 percent. Huckabee follows with 14 percent, and Gingrich and Romney each received 11 percent to round out the top five.
Public Policy Polling, the firm that surveyed several states on potential 2012 GOP presidential contenders just before the midterms, calls Pawlenty's performance in Minnesota "surprisingly weak."
"These numbers are reflective of the overall trouble we found for Pawlenty at home in our final preelection poll of the state — his approval rating was under water and voters overwhelmingly said they didn't think he should run for President," the polling firm wrote.
The pollster also notes that when Pawlenty has been "unusually strong" in several states, it's been at the expense of Romney, the perceived frontrunner.
