Politics / Tim Pawlenty Tim Pawlenty to Declare 2012 Bid Announcement to come Monday, aide says By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff Posted May 20, 2011 10:42 AM CDT Copied Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty speaks to reporters following a Tea Party tax day rally April 15, 2011 outside the Statehouse in Concord, New Hampshire. (Getty Images) Tim Pawlenty will make the obvious official on Monday: He is indeed running for president. An aide tells Politico that Pawlenty will announce his bid alongside his wife at a town hall in Des Moines. Pawlenty was the first candidate to launch an exploratory committee two months ago, making his bid more or less a sure thing. (More Tim Pawlenty stories.) Report an error