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Facebook file: Pawlenty chooses it to start his run for president!

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By The Drum Team, Editorial

March 22, 2011 | 2 min read

Will social media swing the next presidential election? The Governor from Minnesota has climbed on the bandwagon early

Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, aged just 50, has become the first candidate to throw his hat in the ring for the US presidency using Facebook. Pawlenty, a Republican, did so by announcing the formation of a presidential exploratory committee.

In the only media appearance he made after his announcement, Pawlenty told Fox News the decision to announce his committee on Facebook came from a desire to be on the “cutting edge”. He called the social networking site “the wave of the future.” He also said the site would be a helpful tool “to grow the conservative movement and reach out to new voters.”

One commentator said the video on the site was certainly cutting edge. "Pawlenty narrates while music swells in the background and fast-paced video flashes on the screen. The spot looks like more like a movie trailer than the usual political ad."

Before the announcement Pawlenty had around 74,000 people who “like” him on Facebook. Today, he’s up to over 79,000. Sarah Palin has roughly 2.8 million Facebook followers - but she hasn't announced her candidacy. There are 10 months before the Iowa and New Hampshire presidential primaries for the 2012 election. Pawlenty said his goal was "to unify the conservative movement." Pawlenty said on Fox that there would be key staff announcements over the next couple days. His big announcement of an official campaign will follow shortly after, probably in May.
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