Tim Pawlenty's Facebook Special Message (Video)

Likely 2012 Republican Presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty is planning to send a "special message" to supporters on Facebook today at 3:00 PM ET.

Spoiler alert: Pawlenty will not officially announce his candidacy for president today. Instead, he announce the formation of a presidential exploratory committee, just like Newt Gingrich did during his "big announcement" on March 3.

If nothing else, the move should help to boost the former Minnesota governor's following on Facebook. To take part in today's big announcement, supporters have to hit the "Like" the button on Tim Pawlenty's Facebook page.

Update:


The countdown ticker on Tim Pawlenty's Facebook page struck zero at exactly 3:00 PM ET. And then.... nothing happened. After staring at a clock reading 00:00:00 for about half a minute, I refreshed the page and was treated to the following video:

Tim Palwenty in New Hampshire Today

MANCHESTER, NH: Granite Oath PAC has confirmed that on Thursday, March 10th, 2011, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty will participate in the second of its 2011 Presidential Series house parties, beginning at 5:30pm.

The event will be held at the home of PAC Chairman and former candidate for U.S. Senate Ovide Lamontagne and his wife Bettie, and will be open to the media.

Details
Thursday, March 10th, 2011
Granite Oath PAC Event with Governor Tim Pawlenty
Home of Ovide and Bettie Lamontagne
172 Young Street
Manchester, NH 03103

This will be the second in a series of events that Granite Oath PAC seeks to hold with the major prospective Republican candidates for President in New Hampshire’s upcoming First in the Nation primary. The first event was held with former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum on January 11th, with an overflow crowd of over 150 activists attending from throughout New Hampshire.

Tim Pawlenty At Politics & Eggs Today

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is in the middle of a two day trip to New Hampshire. Yesterday, Pawlenty signed copies of his new book Courage to Stand: An American Story at Barnes & Noble in Manchester before heading over to Concord for a reception hosted by the Merrimack County Republican Committee. Today, the 2012 presidential hopeful is scheduled to speak at Politics and Eggs, an event the New Hampshire Political Library calls a "must stop" on the road to the White House.

Several of Tim Pawlenty's potential rivals for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination spoke at Politics and Eggs in 2010, including Rick Santorum, George Pataki, and Gary Johnson.

Pawlenty finished third place in Saturday's WMUR, ABC News, NH GOP 2012 Straw Poll.

Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin: Early Republican Frontrunners For 2012 Nomination

A series of polls released by Public Policy Polling (PPP) have Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin looking like early frontrunners in race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Here's how the race is shaping up in in a number of key states:

Mitt Romney is ranked #1 in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, and New Hampshire

Sarah Palin has the lead in Maine, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin

Mike Huckabee is the favorite in Illinois and Pennsylvania

Tim Pawlenty enjoys a narrow lead in his home state of Minnesota

With most of the leading candidates yet to make it official, these polls provide a valuable reference point for maybe-runs like Sarah Palin.