Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty plans to hold a meeting in Minneapolis next week with donors and political operatives as he considers running for governor again. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Pawlenty to leave Financial Services Roundtable

Financial Services Roundtable CEO Tim Pawlenty will step down from the trade group in March amid speculation that he might campaign for another term as Minnesota's governor.

In a memo to the association's members obtained by POLITICO, Pawlenty said, "it is time for me to begin my next chapter." He was named head of the trade group in 2012.


For months, sources familiar with the organization's operations had expected that he would run for office again after serving for two terms as Minnesota's governor and campaigning for the GOP presidential nomination.

He has not thrown his hat in the race for the Minnesota Senate seat once held by Al Franken, but he has been floated more recently as a potential candidate for governor.

"As has been publicly reported, I am exploring that as an option but certainly haven't made any decisions in that regard," Pawlenty said Tuesday in an interview with Fox Business Network's "Cavuto: Coast to Coast."

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Pawlenty plans to hold a meeting in Minneapolis next week with donors and political operatives as he considers running for governor again.

“Governor Pawlenty is considering running for governor and will be talking with Minnesotans over the coming weeks to assess support and gather advice,” Brian McClung, a former aide and longtime adviser said.

Pawlenty's exit raised questions in the banking industry about the future of the Financial Services Roundtable at a time when the group is undergoing a major overhaul.

FSR's membership went through an upheaval in December when its board voted to restrict the organization to only banks and payments companies, eliminating insurers and asset managers.

Pawlenty's resignation, even if expected by some, appeared to put the direction of the group even more in flux, industry sources said.

Pawlenty offered some reassuring words.

"FSR is now poised to provide even more focused and effective service for our members going forward," he said in a press release. "Over the past five years, I have enjoyed leading FSR's efforts to improve cybersecurity, retirement savings, consumer-friendly financial service technology and financial literacy."

For months Pawlenty would only say that he was “politically retired” when asked about possibly running for Senate or governor again. In and outside the state Pawlenty has received encouragement to run for governor. Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton has decided not to seek a third term, and there’s no clear frontrunner in the GOP primary.

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“I think he’s a top recruit because he’s a guy who has a history of being able to win there. It’s not an easy state to win in. He’s had the ability to win over those blue collar voters that are so important –Upper Midwest Republicans. That’s the difference between winning in Wisconsin and Minnesota and not,” said Republican strategist Mark Harris. “And I assume he can raise money in buckets.”

But Pawlenty’s potential rivals see weaknesses if he were to run again.

On some positions that he took as governor, “some Republican activists may want to get a clarification on him from those, including an energy mandate that he signed into law, cigarette tax increase,” said strategist Gregg Peppin. Peppin is advising Woodbury Mayor Mary Giuliani Stephens in the Republican gubernatorial primary.

Peppin also wondered how Pawlenty would deal with “the inevitable attacks that will come from being a lobbyist for big banks and Wall Street.”



CORRECTION: Neil Cavuto’s name was misspelled in an earlier version of this article.