# Tim Pawlenty *Republican governor of Minnesota, 2003–2011* Timothy James Pawlenty (born November 27, 1960) is a Minnesota politician and lawyer. He was the state's 39th governor, serving two terms from 2003 to 2011 as a member of the [[Republican Party (United States)]].[^1][^2] Before that he represented a Dakota County district in the [[Minnesota House of Representatives]] from 1993 to 2003, and he was its majority leader from 1999.[^3][^2] After leaving the governorship he ran for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, led the Financial Services Roundtable, and lost the 2018 Republican primary for governor.[^2] Pawlenty signed four of the thirteen amendments on the history line of [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]], the agency affirmative-action statute enacted in 1985 under Governor Perpich, a Democrat. The history line records no repeal by any governor of either party.[^4] On January 14, 2026, the [[United States Department of Justice]] sued the State under [[Title VII]] in [[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)]]. The filed complaint cites §43A.191 eight times.[^5] The Department's announcing release, No. 26-21, uses the term "Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime" in its title.[^6] The [[Minnesota Supreme Court]] decided [[Brayton v. Pawlenty]], 781 N.W.2d 357, in 2010.[^7][^8] The project's master record, [[How Minnesota Got Here]], counts that decision as the record's "exactly one instance of a Minnesota institution successfully checking a Minnesota instrument."[^9] ## Early life, education, and early career Pawlenty was born in [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]], and raised in South St. Paul.[^2] He earned a political science degree from the [[University of Minnesota]] in 1983 and a law degree from the [[University of Minnesota Law School]] in 1986. He then practiced labor law at Rider Bennett before becoming a vice president at the software firm Wizmo Inc.[^2] In [[Eagan]] he was appointed to the city's Planning Commission and, at 28, won a seat on the City Council.[^2] ## Minnesota House of Representatives Voters in District 38B, in suburban Dakota County, first sent Pawlenty to the House in 1992, when he took 49.1 percent of the vote. He won four further elections.[^3][^2] His bills included term limits for committee chairs, minimum sentences for repeat domestic-violence offenders, and community notification for sex offenders.[^2] After Republicans took the House majority in 1998, members chose him as majority leader.[^3][^2] ## Governorship ### 2002 election Pawlenty won the Republican endorsement at the party's June 2002 convention. He then won a close primary against businessman Brian Sullivan.[^10][^2] In the three-way general election of November 5, 2002, he defeated DFL state senator Roger Moe and Independence Party nominee Tim Penny, a former Democratic congressman, with 43.8 percent of the vote.[^11][^2] His campaign promised not to raise taxes to close the budget deficit, while leaving room for higher license and user fees. It also proposed a 24-hour abortion waiting period, a concealed-carry law and changes to education requirements.[^2] He took office on January 6, 2003.[^12] ### 2006 reelection In the election of November 7, 2006, Pawlenty defeated DFL nominee [[Mike Hatch]], then the [[Minnesota Attorney General]], along with Peter Hutchinson of the Independence Party and Ken Pentel of the Green Party. His margin over Hatch was under one percentage point; the project's time table rounds it to 1 percent.[^11][^2] ### Administration Pawlenty closed the first-term budget deficit by cutting funds for state programs and adding user fees. The deficit returned with the recession that began in 2007.[^2] The Club for Growth reviewed his record in 2011, beside the no-new-taxes pledge. It credited him with slower growth in spending and taxes, but it also found "some simply inexcusable tax hikes in his record".[^2] Pawlenty signed a concealed-carry law and a 24-hour waiting period for abortion. His administration backed the [[Northstar commuter rail line]] and Target Field.[^2] He chaired the National Governors Association from 2007 to 2008.[^1][^2] The I-35W bridge collapsed in August 2007. The project's time table records that Pawlenty had earlier vetoed gas-tax increases; the veto messages themselves are not in the evidence pack.[^13] The State Planning Agency was created in 1965, and Carlson, a Republican, renamed it the [[Office of Strategic and Long Range Planning]] in 1991. The project study *The Instrument No One Will Name* states that Pawlenty abolished the agency in 2003. It records a sixteen-year gap before Governor Walz rebuilt the planning function in 2019. The study grades this sequence as dossier-sourced, pending retrieval of the 2003 abolition law.[^14] ## 2012 presidential campaign ABC News identified Pawlenty as a possible presidential candidate in February 2005. He co-chaired John McCain's 2008 campaign and did not seek a third consecutive term as governor in 2010.[^2] In 2011 he toured for his book *Courage to Stand* and entered the Republican primary. He withdrew after his campaign failed to gain traction.[^2] He was then a finalist to be Mitt Romney's running mate and served as a co-chair of Romney's campaign.[^2] ## Post-presidential campaign On September 20, 2012, his adviser announced that Pawlenty would leave the Romney campaign. He became president and chief executive of the Financial Services Roundtable, a Washington lobby group for the financial-services industry, succeeding former Texas congressman Steve Bartlett.[^2][^15] On April 5, 2018, Pawlenty announced a bid for a third term as governor, with [[Michelle Fischbach]] as his running mate. He lost the Republican primary to Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson.[^2] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who The lineage of §43A.191 runs through both parties. - Chapter 43A, which holds [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.19]], was enacted by Laws 1981 c 210 under Governor Quie, a Republican.[^14] - §43A.191 itself was enacted by 1Sp1985 c 13 s 172 under Perpich, a Democrat.[^4][^14] Governors of both parties then signed the amendments:[^4][^14] - Perpich: 1987 c 186; 1987 c 354; 1988 c 667; 1990 c 571. - Carlson: 1992 c 513; 1995 c 248; 1996 c 305. - Pawlenty: 2004 c 207; 2007 c 35; 2008 c 204; 2009 c 101. - Walz, of the DFL: 1Sp2019 c 10; 2023 c 62. ### What The complaint in *United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn.), was filed January 14, 2026, under Title VII of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]]. It cites §43A.191 eight times, including subdivision 3(c)'s requirement that an agency explain the reason for hiring a non-affirmative candidate.[^5] These are the complaint's allegations; the evidence pack records the filing and no ruling.[^5] The Department's release No. 26-21, issued the same day, is titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. It states that Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^6] The suit was filed after [[Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services]], 605 U.S. 303 (2025). In that case the Supreme Court held that Title VII's disparate-treatment provision "draws no distinctions between majority-group plaintiffs and minority-group plaintiffs". The Court also rejected the Sixth Circuit's heightened "background circumstances" rule for majority-group plaintiffs.[^16] In federal usage "regime" is a term applied to governments the United States opposes. The [[Iraq Liberation Act]] of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-338) states a policy of supporting efforts to remove "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein".[^17] The project's catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages finds Minnesota the only U.S. state so described.[^9] ### When - November 5, 2002: elected governor.[^11] - January 6, 2003: took office.[^12] - 2003: abolished the State Planning Agency, according to *The Instrument No One Will Name*.[^14] - 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2009: amendments to §43A.191 enacted.[^4] - November 7, 2006: reelected.[^11] - 2010: *Brayton v. Pawlenty* decided by the Minnesota Supreme Court.[^7][^8] - January 14, 2026: federal complaint citing §43A.191 filed.[^5] ### How many - §43A.191 has 13 amendments and 0 repeals. Seven amendments were signed under Republican governors (three under Carlson, four under Pawlenty) and six under Democratic governors.[^4][^14] - The federal complaint cites §43A.191 8 times.[^5] ## Notes [^1]: National Governors Association, *Tim Pawlenty* (governor profile) — 39th governor of Minnesota, 2003–2011; NGA chair, 2007–2008. https://www.nga.org/governor/tim-pawlenty/ [^2]: Wikipedia, *Tim Pawlenty* (revision 1372810157, retrieved 2026-10-25) — biographical, electoral and career details. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Pawlenty [^3]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Minnesota Legislators Past and Present: Tim Pawlenty* — House service record. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10512 [^4]: Office of the Revisor of Statutes, *Minnesota Statutes § 43A.191* (live text and history line) — enactment 1Sp1985 c 13 s 172; thirteen amendments, including 2004 c 207, 2007 c 35, 2008 c 204 and 2009 c 101; no repeal. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/43A.191 [^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Complaint, United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn. filed Jan. 14, 2026) — Title VII claims; cites § 43A.191 eight times, including subd. 3(c). https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — title of release; Attorney General's certification of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^7]: Minnesota Supreme Court, *Brayton v. Pawlenty*, 781 N.W.2d 357 (Minn. 2010) (CourtListener) — the decision. https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1630535/brayton-v-pawlenty/ [^8]: Office of the Revisor of Statutes, *Court Opinions Report to the Legislature* (Nov. 15, 2010) — summary of *Brayton v. Pawlenty*. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/docs/2010/mandated/101380.pdf [^9]: *How Minnesota Got Here* (merged master, footnoted), project record — characterization of *Brayton* (§3, n. 4); project catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages (n. 40). No public URL in the evidence pack. [^10]: Minnesota Public Radio, *Pawlenty wins marathon for GOP endorsement* (June 2002) — Republican endorsement. https://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200206/14_mccalluml_govendorse/index.shtml [^11]: Minnesota Secretary of State, *Historical Election Data* — 2002 and 2006 gubernatorial elections. https://www.sos.state.mn.us/election-administration-campaigns/data-maps/historical-election-data/ [^12]: Minnesota Secretary of State, *Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State* (source cited by the project's time table, row TL-0720) — inauguration, January 6, 2003. https://www.sos.state.mn.us/ [^13]: National Transportation Safety Board, *I-35W bridge collapse report* (hosted by MnDOT) — the August 2007 collapse; cited by the project's time table (row TL-0765) with its entry on gas-tax vetoes. https://dot.state.mn.us/i35wbridge/pdf/ntsb-report.pdf [^14]: *The Instrument No One Will Name* (densified, 2026-06-18), project study — State Planning Agency sequence (n. 31, graded dossier-sourced); § 43A.19/§ 43A.191 lineage and amendments by governor (nn. 13–14, confirmed against the Revisor history line). No public URL in the evidence pack. [^15]: Leading Authorities, *Tim Pawlenty, CEO of Financial Services Roundtable* (speaker profile) — Financial Services Roundtable post. https://www.leadingauthorities.com/speakers/tim-pawlenty [^16]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services*, 605 U.S. 303 (2025) — Title VII disparate-treatment holding. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1039_c0n2.pdf [^17]: U.S. Government Publishing Office, *Iraq Liberation Act of 1998*, Pub. L. 105-338 — statement of policy on "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein". https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-105publ338/pdf/PLAW-105publ338.pdf